Business
Phuket Business: Tourism growth projected at 15% by Seacon head

PHUKET: Piya Sosothikul, executive director of Seacon Group, and owner of the Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa, recently gave his outlook for Phuket tourism.
Mr Piya said he expects tourist arrivals to increase by 15% this year, despite a decline in arrivals from the island’s traditional tourist source markets in Western Europe, due to the economic and financial crises affecting outbound tourism.
He attributed Phuket’s rise in tourism to the growing Russian and Chinese tourist markets, which he said has seen on average, 30% annual growth over the past three years.
Mr Piya projected that there will be a total of 300,000 arrivals from each of these countries for all of 2012, and thus making them Phuket’s second and third largest tourist groups, respectively.
He added that the Australian tourist market is projected to yield about 500,000 tourists to Phuket.
Meanwhile, he projected average hotel occupancy for the year to be as much as 70%, with a 5% increase in room prices.
Particularly benefiting the Chinese market are large 3 and 4-star hotels located in Phuket Town and in beach towns, but not so close to the ocean, he said.
This is because such hotels are competitively priced and cater to a market who tend to prefer to go sight seeing instead of partaking in leisure activities out in the open sun.
He added that Russian tourists’ accommodation choices, in contrast, will range from two star apartments up to five star hotels, which are located closer to the beach.
Going on to speak about his own hotel, he said: “We’re satisfied with hotel operations… We expect the occupancy average for 2012 to be as high as 75%. We also expect the average room rate to surpass our initial objectives due to the fact that direct bookings, which didn’t come via agents, have increased. This, in addition to the fact that the style of our villas are popular among clients.”
In any case, Mr Piya said that the news of increased tourism may not be good across the board, pointing out that an increase in rooms will pose some new challenges.
Competition is rising with some 1,500 rooms being added to the market in the final quarter of the year, namely from projects such as the Holiday Inn Express, Patong, Pullman Phuket Arcadia Nai Thon Beach and the Regent Phuket at Cape Panwa, among others.
“In order to remain competitive, many hotels have been unable to raise their prices…”
Mr Piya went on to elaborate on his hotel’s strategy: “We aim to keep our prices steady, keeping to the standard – not reduce prices in order to lure clients from the competition… We’re trying [to target] the package market with high-potential clients, especially during low season. These include [packages for] marriage and reception ceremonies, seminars and Korean honeymooners who like to stay in villas.”
He said that, counting up to the end of this year, there will have been 33 couples holding their marriage ceremony at his hotel, which averages out to one marriage every 10 days. This is compared to only six couples in the previous year.
He added that most of the couples have been Australian.
Asked about challenges and problems facing Phuket tourism, Mr Piya identified congestion at Phuket airport as the most urgent, especially in the high season when charter flights increase by as much as 20 flights per day.
“By the end of this year, Phuket airport will have received more than nine million passengers, while its capacity is only 6.5 million passengers. There are planes taking off and landing on its runway every five minutes, and many airlines cannot find slots to touch down through to the middle of the night.
“In any case Phuket province is a resource for more than 10 per cent of the country’s revenue for international tourism. Thus, I believe the government will continue to support [tourism development and infrastructure investments.”
— Siam Turakij
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO

We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is now an open battle between the rise of social media platforms and the governments and ‘old’ media that have been able to maintain a certain level of control over the ‘message’ for the last century. Who will win?
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told. The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
International travellers allowed to transit Thailand from Monday
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
PM Prayut postponing Covid‐19 vaccination citing paperwork issues
- Crime3 days ago
Motorbike taxi attacked tourist in Pattaya because he was annoyed
- Bangkok2 days ago
Bangkok police raid house where model died after playing hostess
- Crime3 days ago
Thai man accidentally kills himself with homemade bomb
- Bangkok1 day ago
Woman talks about the life of a Thai “pretty” after model’s death
- Eastern Thailand3 days ago
Roadtrippers take a break at petrol station only to find dead body under car
- Myanmar2 days ago
Myanmar’s representative to UN urges strong action against military after increasing violence against protesters