What a difference an airport could make
Phuket’s Northern neighbour Phang Nga, and its key tourism magnet of Khao Lak, is seeing increasingly broader demand. One clear sign of the times is the new international offerings in the current pipeline including such brands as Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Avani. And a new airport to service the area as well.
Read more about the confirmed new Phang Nga airport HERE.
How is the area developing into a more mainstream offering?
“Given the distance to Phuket Airport, wholesale travel agents have been powerful in driving demand to the Khao Lak tourism market. They have been able to market the destination by providing one-stop services for guests by arranging their accommodation, transportation, and activities under single package,” says Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com.
Bill says that, traditionally, wholesale travel agents especially those from the European and Australian markets are key providers. However, the number of free independent travelers (FITs) booking directly to hotels and online travel agents (OTAs) has significantly grown in the past few years. Therefore, this trend is becoming key to hotels seeing a slow migration from traditional wholesalers to OTA’s and in effect, this is impacting seasonal trends with higher occupancy in low months.
“Without a doubt the biggest game changer looking forward is the plan for a 60 billion baht new international airport in Khok Kloi Phang Nga. When it materialises, the travel time to the Khao Lak tourism area will be greatly reduced to less than an hour and will in effect create a far broader mainstream tourism market.”
Read the c9hotelworks market update for Khao Lak HERE.
Source: STR and C9 Hotelworks Market Research
