Road show gives Phang Nga a boost
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| Amazing
Khao Lak beaches |
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After the giant ITB tourism exhibition in Berlin
ended, the Tourism Authority of Thailand organised
for representatives of 18 hotels and resorts from
the Andaman Coast provinces to tour Spain and Italy
between March 10 and 13, 2008, in an effort to increase
the numbers of tourists from the two countries.
For Phang Nga the road show was particularly successful,
Chittiporn Suttipiboon, President of the Phang Nga
Tourist Association (PTA) told Phuket.com. The road
show took in four cities, she explained – Barcelona
and Madrid in Spain, and Milan and Rome in Italy.
“In Barcelona and Madrid, they know Phuket and
Krabi, of course. But they don’t really know
about [Khao Lak and Phang Nga] yet. However, many
big agencies in Milan and Rome already know Khao Lak.
Overall, we got good feedback. We hope to see some
results within two years.
“We spent time briefing travel companies and
the Spanish and Italian press about what the Andaman
Coast region has to offer in terms of beach resort,
new tourist attractions and facilities. Phang Nga’s
unique selling point is sustainable tourism; we have
what nature gave us – which is a very beautiful
destination. We are not comparable with ‘hot
list’ destinations like Phuket or Krabi,”
Khun Chittiporn explained.
The PTA says there are 4,200 hotel or guesthouse
rooms in Phang Nga, still less than the 6,000 that
existed before the Asian Tsunami hit the area in December
2004. It predicts occupancy rates of 75 to 80 percent
in the current high season period, from November 1,
2007 to April 30, 2008. Before the tsunami, occupancy
rates in the equivalent period were 90 to 95 percent.
“In two years’ time, we hope to have tourist
numbers in Phang Nga back to [pre-tsunami] levels,”
Khun Chittiporn added.
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