24 / 56
It was a slow burn initially, with the stunning — and predominantly
deserted — beaches attracting mostly backpackers and other easy-
going wanderers who weren’t necessarily on any sort of set schedule.
By the mid-’70s, though, descriptions of talcum-soft sand and turquoise-
colored water, not to mention friendly locals and a mesmerizing jungle
interior, spread, and development was underway.
“Phuket has been a very popular tourist destination in this part of
the world as long as I can remember, and I have been visiting for more
than 45 years,” says Joe Hickman, vice president and executive director
of Asia/Pacific for Interval International. “It’s really a quintessential island
destination, with the beaches and clear water you’d expect, combined
with delicious food, great nightlife, welcoming people, and affordability all
contributing to the success of the island.”
A Resilient Escape
As popular as it’s been over the course of the last few decades, though,
the overall scene hasn’t always been as idyllic as the photos of Phang
Nga Bay or the Big Buddha statue or the Phi Phi Islands make it seem. In
1986, protests against the opening of a tantalum production plant ended
with a massive fire that caused substantial damage to one of the most
popular hotels in Phuket Town. In December 2004, a tsunami flooded the
island, tossing cars into buildings, destroying properties, and resulting in
thousands of deaths.
As expected, visitor numbers dropped through 2005 — by almost
half, in fact, based on the total number of global passenger arrivals at
Phuket International Airport, according to the Airports of Thailand market-
ing team. The same report, though, shows that by 2007, at least for world
travelers, things were back to normal, and Phuket’s popularity regained
its upward momentum.
Positive gains continued to be the trend through the first half of 2016,
even after the political transition to a military-based government in 2014.
As of press time, however, it remains to be seen whether the series of
bombings that hit several tourist locations in Thailand, including Phuket,
will affect travel to the area.
It’s a testament to the location itself that past events haven’t impaired
its tourism trajectory. “While people are certainly wary any time this sort of
news is reported, it has always had only a very short-term impact on tour-
ism to Thailand,” explains Hickman. “Be it political change or a tsunami,
tourists return quickly after any event. For a multitude of reasons, people
are very forgiving when things like that happen in Thailand.”
Maybe it’s the beaches. Prototypical strands can be found all around
the island, with activities ranging from snorkeling to simple sun worship-
ing. There are family-friendly stretches and other sections where it’s al-
most impossible to differentiate between the end of last night’s party and
the beginning of today’s festivities.
Or perhaps it’s something else. The natural scenery is the stuff of
Hollywood legend, literally: Phang Nga Bay’s can’t-miss geologic high-
light is known as “James Bond Island” because it was featured in
The
Man With the Golden Gun
. It’s an impressive sight, but the truth of the
matter is that nearly all of the local limestone features—craggy cliff faces,
rock bridges, and proud pinnacles shaped by eons of ocean sculpting —
are remarkable.
There’s scores of shopping, too, and restaurants, cultural experi-
ences, eco adventures, Buddhist temples, and tours of all manner.
Most likely, though, the reason political demonstrations and natural
disasters don’t keep people away for long is because Phuket is such a
wonderful and harmonious blend of all these attractions.
Indeed, as Hickman says, “Naturally, there is a laid-back beach scene
all around, but there are high-end sections of the island as well, and more
touristy sections where bars and late-night entertainment are the norm.”
There are multimillion-dollar vacation villas built all over the island, and
yachts and luxury cruise ships in the harbor. And then there are plane-
loads of backpackers who arrive daily. And they all seem to mix well
together, according to Hickman.
“It helps that the island is big enough that, if you want, you can get
away from all the typical stuff and go for a genuine local experience,” he
adds. “Plus — and this is incredibly important — the Thais are very wel-
coming and engage well with tourists.”
22
MARKET
SPOTLIGHT
By J.B. Bissell
Asia’s Field of Dreams
Phuket:
Phuket’s prime global position — right off Thailand’s southwestern
coast in the Andaman Sea, and just beyond the northern exit of the
Malacca Strait — has made it a popular stopping-off point for travelers
since the dawn of the Common Era. Of course, for the majority of those
initial 2,000 years, most of the visitors were either colonists, pirates, or
traders. But then, in 1967, when the Sarasin Bridge opened, the island
was connected to the mainland for the first time, and Phuket’s guest
demographic changed forever.
Deposit Photos/Glow Images
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2016
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review