Phuket seen as an ideal getaway for Hong Kong travellers

Whilst everyone knows that the Hong Kong is a shopping paradise especially amongst Thais, there aren’t that many that know that Phuket is also seen as an ideal getaway for Hong Kong travellers.

The Phuket Tourist Association and the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation recently held a road show in Hong Kong aiming to attract more tourists to the Land of Smiles. More than 70 entrepreneurs and Hong Kong media representatives flocked to the Table Top Sale fair in Hong Kong, where Thai tourist services were on offer.

According to the Phuket Tourist Association, the number of Hong Kong residents visiting the province increases every year. In 2009, Phuket welcomed around 100,000 Hong Kong tourists, with the last quarter alone seeing over 40,000 visitors.

One of the factors making Phuket a lively destination to the people of Hong Kong is the direct flights between the two destinations, where 24 flights are operated weekly.
Beaches on the Phuket coastline attract numbers of visitors, but the president of Phuket Tourist Association said there is also a change in the travel behaviour of Hong Kong tourists.

“Hong Kong travellers of the new generation are more like foreign independent travellers, or FIT. They also have more purchasing power. We found that there’re more of them in Phuket, who book their own flights, hotels, and travel in a leisurely manner by themselves,” said Somboon Jirayus, Phuket Tourist Association president.

Meanwhile, Phuket authorities are planning to do their next road shows in other countries to expand more markets and so that the province will be better recognised.

“For the rest of 2010, our next market destinations would be Indonesia, India and Iran. As Phuket is one of Thailand’s main tourist cities, we’ll need to move forward with proactive marketing strategies in those markets,” said Paiboon Upatising, president of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation.

With all the marketing strategies Phuket is mapping out, it is hoped that the outcome will benefit all Phuket and further generate revenues for the country as a whole.