legover Posted May 31, 2003 Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 did someone post this already? http://www.bangkokpost.com/260503_News/26May2003_news14.html PHUKET Island teeters on brink of financial ruin B2.5bn a month lost as tourism plunges Post reporters A drastic drop in the number of visitors to Phuket is threatening to hammer the final nail in the coffin of the island's languishing tourism industry. Provincial governor Pongpayom Vasaphuti said the situation was extremely grave with no light visible at the end of the tunnel. As many as 14,000 people working in the tourism and service sectors had been made redundant amid the current downturn, he said. Phuket tourist guide association chief Panompol Thammachartniyom said 80% of some 2,000 local guides had lost their jobs. Phuket is being battered by one of its worst tourism crises in history after the triple-whammy of the US-led war in Iraq, regional fears over the Sars virus, and a renewed threat of terrorism. Mr Pongpayom said the province was desperate for a new lease of life. ``This cloud has no silver lining,'' he said, predicting arrivals of overseas tourists could shrink to as low as 10% of previous figures. He said incentives such as cheap air tickets and aggressive tourism promotions in Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand were needed to lure back foreign visitors. The government should also ensure those left jobless by the slump receive extended periods of welfare from the Social Security Fund, he said. With about 30,000 hotel rooms available on the island, Phuket attracted some three million tourists per year, generating an annual income of around 60 billion baht. Provincial tourism industry association chairman Pattanapong Ekvanich said the island was currently losing about 2.5 billion baht per month, with no improvement in sight. His organisation would ask the cabinet, which was meeting in Phuket today, to grant tax breaks to prop up ailing tourism enterprises, he said. Mr Pattanapong said many hotels had adopted rigorous austerity policies, including forcing employees to take indefinite leave on half-pay. According to industry figures, the Nai Yang and Kata local hotel groups had been forced to close down their establishments, while 54 restaurants had also gone under over the past two months. Three luxury hotel groups were also reported to be in dire financial straits. Royal Paradise Patong hotel managing director Jirachai Amornpairoj said the situation had stabilised during the school holidays, when many families took holidays together. But with the new school term underway there were no further positive factors on the horizon. ``This could well be the final nail in the coffin,'' he said. The government had done nothing to remedy the malaise. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, meanwhile, has assigned Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to look into the viability of turning Phuket into a duty-free port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted May 31, 2003 Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, meanwhile, has assigned Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to look into the viability of turning Phuket into a duty-free port. Duh Its about time- My best friend who used to manage most of the PMS biz has been working on this for 10 years Its time to go to buy land in Phuket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEA!!!... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legover Posted May 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 ?look into the viability? I?d like to agree but in TL that's a poor premise for investment. What if the tourists find somewhere else to go and don?t come back, always a possibility. cheers 3d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinsin2 Posted May 31, 2003 Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 Long overdue....an overpriced shithole. Never got good reports about it from non whoremongers. People visit once but dont return..... The Thais could 'nt even sort out the Taxis. Tourists (couples)return and feel ripped off. Cant go to a disco after 2am....what sort of a holiday destination is that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko Posted May 31, 2003 Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 A little harsh but not wrong. This was a wonderful laid back place when I first visited twenty odd years ago - bloody good lobster dinner for a few bucks. These days the aggravation starts at the airport trying to get reasonable transport to town. I gave up on the place 5 years ago. Now my current GF wants to go down there - will I hate it? :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legover Posted May 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 probably. things change and often it's best to move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene1944 Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 Says sinsin2: Long overdue....an overpriced shithole. ....People visit once but dont return..... Boy ain't that the truth? I will never visit Phuket again and have many friend who feel the same way. Too many other locations around Thailand to see where one feels more welcome and not looked at as a "wallet" to be fleeced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bembaman Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 Agreed: the greediest fuckers in Thailand without a doubt, and boy is that an indictment or what?! I went once and have no desire to go back. Nice island but full of Thai arseholes. I was even actually woken up with sharp jabs in the ribs whilst sleeping on the beach to find some prick asking if i wanted to buy T-shirts, tacky trinkets etc. This is a classic case of Thai 'short-termism' flying back in their face. Unfortunately they do not learn as greed completely clouds their horizon. Has anyone tried to walk down the beach road in patong at night without being stopped every 5 metres, literally, by guess what, an Indian tailor! One guy tried blocking my way as I tried to pass him by dodging to the left then the right then the left. After threatening to physically remove him from my path he got the message. Also irritating is the instant assumption you are not only an inexperienced tourist but also stupid and willing to pay 4 times for stuff what it would cost at home. At least the starting prices are a little less insulting in bangkok, not been to patpong for a long time though so i am not sure of the scene there these days. Not sure about anyone else's experience but i found the girls overly agressive too-each to their own on that one but i didn't like them much compared to Bkk or Pattaya. My trip to James Bond Island illustrates things. Stupidly i booked a tour and was taken via a temple with, surprise surprise, a huge market next to it where we were 'encouraged' to browse for 40 minutes. On to the boat, when we got to the island the guide announced that it wasn't really worth landing so we whistled past at great speed to, guess what, a market and restaurant community on stilts somewhere. A shit lunch followed by, yes you're reading me now aren't you, a market! Back on the boat and 2 more unscheduled stops. Firstly a peanut place to buy overpriced peanuts, no tour of the business which might have been something, just the company shop. Next, and this is where I laid into the guide, the 'gems factory' where we spent two hours looking at gems we had no intention or desire to buy. None of this other shit was on the brochure. My parents, complete spendaholics with plenty of cash, are doing their annual visit in January and enquired about doing Phuket-not hapening i can tell you! Sorry, but I love Bkk, Pattaya, Hua Hin but hate Phuket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bembaman Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 Almost forgot, the shoe shine story. Due to my newbie status at the time, probably 3 or 4 years ago, I got 'worn-down' by a 6 year old shoe shine kid into letting him clean them. I didn't set a price beforehand so when he asked for b300 it sounded a bit much. There was only a mamasan in the beer bar so i asked her if this was reasonable, knowing it wasn't but hoping she would scold him and 'award' him a fair price and send him on his way. She just said 'I don't know' looking embarrassed and moving to the other side of the bar, so I offered to give the kid 200 and said that was all he was getting. Too much I know but I just wanted the little arsehole to fuck off. Do you think he was ecstatic at earning as much as many earn in a whole day? No, he launched himself at my legs in a rage punching and trying to bite me whilst at the same time trying to snatch the money. Anyway, I shrugged him off and he eventualy left calling me every name under the sun. He only managed to snatch B100 in the end. The losers of course are the other shoe shiners and indeed the mamasan who seemed startled that I wasn't staying for another beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 Long overdue ----------------------------- nice to share common views. I went there once 13 years ago, because a newbie friend insisted it had to be part of his trip to Thailand. had the worse experience with a freelancer (told here a few months ago), still the worse by far after all this time, and i thought this was as far away from thailand as it could be. just another club med type tourist resort with prices accordingly. Proof is: tourists eschewing Phuket will not go to another destination in Thailand, but to another country. OK, no proof, just IMO.... as always! PS: nice coastline, i have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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