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TAT OPENS NEW PHUKET OFFICE
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has opened a new office at 191 Thalang Road in Phuket town. Mr. Pracha Maleenont, Minister of Tourism and Sports presided over the opening ceremony on July 22, 2006.
Built at a cost of 15 million baht, the office boasts a distinctive Sino-Portuguese style that meshes perfectly with the architecture and landscaping of the surrounding area.
The TAT first opened a Phuket office in May 1977 to help develop the resort into a world-class tourist destination, create jobs for the people of South Thailand, and contribute to Thai economic development and income distribution.
In 1988, visitor arrivals to Phuket totalled 884,293 and grew to 1.25 million in 1990, generating an income of 8,547.27 million baht.
In 1993, as visitor arrivals continue to grow steadily, TAT upgraded the status of the Phuket office to take charge of the entire Southern Region, which included other rapidly rising resort areas such as Phang-Nga and Krabi.
Today, says TAT Governor Mrs Juthamas Siriwan, “We are proud that these destinations have become well-known globally and help generate roughly one third of Thailand’s tourism revenue.”
The inauguration of the new office also coincided with the completion of the relandscaping projects on Patong and Kamala Beaches, which started a few months after the tsunami.
Visitor arrivals to Phuket between January and March 2006 totalled 1,074,558, with an average length of stay of 4.64 days and average daily expenditure per person of 3,818 baht.
As of July 2006, there were 109 scheduled flights a week from Europe and Asia Pacific cities directly to Phuket. These included cities in Cambodia (7), China (4), Germany (7), Hong Kong (3), Malaysia (10), Australia (8), Japan (14), Korea (8) Singapore (31) and Taiwan (17).
In November 2006, the Australian low-cost airline Jetstar is due to launch its first scheduled flight between Sydney and Phuket, three times weekly with an a 330-seat Airbus A330-200.
Boasting world class service and accommodation facilities, Phuket has won numerous awards over the years, the latest of which was the “New Frontier award” from Arabian Travel Mart 2006 (ATM 2006) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for its post-tsunami recovery work.
The TAT office is visited by dozens of visitors every day. It is open from 0830 to 1630 hrs every day.
Contact details
Tel : (66) 7621 2213, (66) 7621 1036, (66) 7621 7138
Fax: (66) 7621 3582
E-mail: tatphket@tat.or.th
Text Copyright Tourism Authority of Thailand News Room -- www.TATnews.org
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