Monthly Archives: December 2009

New air services drive Phuket popularity

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PHUKET- Is Phuket ready to give Bangkok a run for its money as the top tourist draw Thailand?

Australians are among those who appear to think so.

Last month, Pacific Blue launched direct service from Perth to Phuket.

This month V Australia launched non-stop flights from Melbourne.

And next week, Jetstar adds two more services per week from Sydney to Phuket, bringing the carrier’s total number of services per week to five during the busy December and January period.

“Phuket is a perennial favorite among Aussies as an international holiday destination,” said Simon Westaway, Jetstar’s head of corporate relations.

“Adding an additional Saturday and Sunday service makes it all the more accessible.”

Jetstar isn’t stopping with Sydney, either. From December 15, Jetstar Asia launches a twice-daily service from Singapore — services that will connect through to Jetstar’s existing daily Perth-Singapore service.

“I’m not surprised these airlines have commenced direct service to Phuket,” said Craig Fong, director of sales and marketing for Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket, site of the inaugural Asia Connect Thailand regional hospitality conference last week.

“I think they all would have started sooner if not for the global economic crisis and domestic political issues last year, which carried forward into this year.

“However, the situation is much more stable and you can see demand is returning to pre-crisis levels. With direct service at the right price point now too, Phuket is poised to realise big gains.”

Traditionally, Phuket’s hotels have relied on major tour wholesalers for their Australian business.

“The online channel represents a substantial opportunity moving forward but you can’t underscore enough the resilience and influence of the major wholesalers,” said Fong.

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Tourist arrivals from China up by 50 percent

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The number of Chinese tourists visiting Samui has doubled since last year, according to Mr.Vichit Prakobkoson, president of the Thai-Chinese Tourism Relationship  Association. He said most of these tourists are drawn to the island by cheap package tours. Tour operators specializing on the Chinese market offer chartered tours to the island at less than Bt10,000 per tourist. The amount, he said, usually takes care of return ticket, meals and hotel accommodation,

Small planes with a maximum capacity of 200 passengers are often used to take these tourists direct to Samui from China.

Mr. Vichit said this low-cost approach to bring in tourists from China should be encouraged among other tour operators. Using this strategy, the island could bring in up to 3 million Chinese tourists a year.

During this high tourist season, which started in November, Chinese arrivals on Samui have increased by 50 percent compared with that of last year. In Bangkok, the increase has been comparatively low – at only 20 percent, Mr. Vichit said.

Since most parts of China are landlocked, Chinese tourists prefer the beaches than other attractions.  This explains why, Vichit said, Chinese tourists opt to go to Samui than Bangkok.

These tourists are flown in from China through chartered flights coming from Shanghai, Beijing and Kunming.

Vichit said the government should do its promoting the country among the Chinese by ensuring peace and political stability in the country. Political uncertainties, he said, could dampen the Chinese’s interest in Thailand. – Chat Anupan

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Samui, Phangan land prices overvalued?

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THE Chamber of Commerce of Suratthani has issued an urgent letter to the Finance Ministry to protest what it thinks are the overly high prices of lands fixed for Koh Samui and Koh Phangan by the Treasury Department. The prices represent an average increase of 200 percent. It said the land valuations were higher than the actual market prices. Theerakit Wangmutitakul, the Chamber president, told Finance Ministry caretaker Korn Jatikavanit that the new land prices set by the Treasury Department for 2008-11 did not reflect the real prices in the market and that they could be detrimental instead of helpful to the two islands’ economies.

Mr. Theerakit said property investors would be discouraged to put their money in Samui and Phangan because the new land prices are too high, and might instead move to other destinations.

The Chamber’s letter complaint was sent after landowners affected by the new land prices expressed their apprehension to the Chamber. Theerakit urged the Treasury Department to reconsider the new land prices it has set for the two islands.

“On behalf of the private sector, we would like to ask the concerned agencies and officials to consider the land prices which have recently been adjusted; the prices do not reflect the actual market and economic situation on Koh Samui. The exaggerated increase can result in the suspension of the economic growth and block potential investors and land purchasers from choosing Samui and Phangan as their investment destinations,” Theerakit said.

Theerakit said that they proposed more realistic land price adjustments for consideration by the Treasury Department “so that we can have the real prices that are not so high like what the Treasury Department has set.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Choomphol Kajana, a member of the Democrat Party from Suratthani, said he has also received a letter from those who are affected by the “inflated” land price valuations and that he was ready to coordinate with the Finance Ministry to solve the problem.

A source from the Treasury Department has admitted that the land prices on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan it set were in fact higher than their real prices and that when the prices were fixed, the department factored in the highly competitive market, wherein prices move up continually. The source added that the Treasury Department was in the process of readjusting the new prices to reflect the reality in some areas. But the Treasury Department said that land prices on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan could not be brought down because they are major tourist destinations where land prices are boosted up all the time. It claimed that in some areas, the real land prices are higher than what the Treasury Department has evaluated. For example, from Chaweng beach to Laem Son within 60 meters from the sea, the land price in 2004-07 was Bt 2,500-Bt10,000 per 4 square meters, but the land price in 2008-11 is Bt 6,250-Bt50,000, or an increase of 150-400 percent.

The old price of land in Lamai beach within the range of 40 meters from the sea was Bt5,000-Bt 7,500 per 4 square meters, but now it is Bt35,000, or a 366.66-600 percent increase.

In Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan the old price of land within 40 meters from the beach was Bt750 per 4 square meters, but the price now is Bt8,000, an increase of 966 percent.

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