Samui Operators See some Signs of Revival

    Foreign bookings up as tensions subside

 Tourism activity on Koh Samui is expected to revive next year with expectations that Asian visitors
 in particular will stage a comeback as they perceive improved political stability in Thailand, say
 industry executives on the island.

 Visitor numbers from the Middle East and Russia are also expected to rise because of stepped-up
 advertising and attractive tourism packages to be offered by operators, said Senee
 Phuwasetthaworn, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui.

 According to Mr Senee, four charter flights with 150 seats each from China Southern Airlines are
 scheduled to fly to Surat Thani starting from Wednesday.

 The airline is using the Surat Thani provincial airport instead of the one on Samui, which is owned
  by Bangkok Airways and charges high landing fees.

 "This reflects a new hope for operators as it will be the first time there is a charter flight from
  China to Surat Thani," he said.

 Mr Senee said operators were seeing increased hotel room reservations from Germany, Eastern
 Europe, Russia and Scandinavia for January, the busiest month of the high tourism season.

 The association forecasts Samui will draw 1.1 million foreign visitors next year, with revenue of 12-
 13 billion baht.

 "The projection is based on the prospect that we do not have any more political clashes," said Mr
  Senee.

 This year, the association projects foreign visitors to Samui will drop 40% from 2008 to one million,
 with spending totalling 11 billion baht, a drop of more than 20% from 2008, largely reflecting heavy
 discounts on room rates.

 Because tourism has been so sluggish in light of the global recession and concerns about political
 strife in Thailand, Samui's hotel operators have cut room prices by as much as 30-40% this year to
 attract visitors.

 In a bid to stay competitive and increase the quality of tourism, local operators recently agreed to
 develop Samui as a "green island", said Mr Senee. The government has also set aside a budget of
 900 million baht from its 1.4-trillion-baht stimulus programme to build and upgrade roads on the
 island.

                                           Source: Bangkokpost.com, Chatrudee Theparat, 28th September, 2009