Patong gears up for high season

PATONG, PHUKET: Patong Municipality will spend five million baht filling in the potholes on the unfinished Phang Muang Road that runs behind Jungceylon.

Patong Mayor Pian Keesin said he hopes the work will be completed in time for the upcoming high season.

The total price tag for the Phang Muang Road project, which requires completion of a three- to four- kilometer stretch, would be somewhere between 300 and 400 million baht, he said.

Once completed, the road will serve as a new north-south artery though central Patong, relieving traffic congestion on other roads, he said.

Mayor Pian said current hotel occupancy rates at most hotels were currently averaging between 40 and 50 per cent, which was lower than last year.

“Occupancy rates will improve in the upcoming high season, so to prepare for this, the Municipality will spruce up the two main roads leading into Patong by planting banana trees along the roadsides,” he said.

“Tourists will know they have arrived when they see these banana trees, which are symbolic of Patong.”

Mayor Pian said operators of more than 20 different beachfront businesses would also be given ‘skills enhancement training’ which would include tips on how not to annoy tourists.

— Kom Chad Luek