Governor Narong is to retire from public service on Saturday (Sept 30), with Sophon Suwannarat, currently serving as Governor of Chaiyaphum Province, to arrive to take up the post of Governor of Phuket from Sunday (Oct 1).
The meeting on Monday also marked an official farewell for Matthew Barclay, who is concluding more than three years of serving as the Australian Consul-General for Phuket and the surrounding region.
Present at the meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, were consuls and representatives from more than 13 countries, including Brazil, Austria, Chile, the United Kingdom, Estonia, France, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Nepal, Mongolia, Norway and the Netherlands.
Present as representatives of local boffices of the Thai government were Ratchadaphon O-in, Director of the Phuket Tourism and Sports Office; Somsuk Samphanprathip, Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO); Samerjit Limlikit, chief of the local Passport Office; Subchacha Intarit, Director of Phuket Damrongtham Center (Phuket Ombudsman’s Office); and Pol Col Thanet Sukchai, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration.
Governor Narong thanked the consuls for their support in taking care of foreign tourists in Phuket. “Phuket province has a large number of tourists traveling here. Therefore, requesting cooperation from tourists to follow the rules is important for a happy and peaceful coexistence between local people and tourists,” Governor Narong said.
Phuket Immigration chief Col Thanet highlighted the 30-day stay now allowed by the visa exemption policy for Chinese and Kazakhstan nationals, which came into effect on Monday and will remain in effect for five months, until Feb 29 next year.
Col Thanet pointed out that 377,830 Chinese tourists had arrived in Phuket from Jan 1 to Sept 23 this year, which he noted was 83% less than for the same period in 2019.
Of the Chinese visitors who have come so far this year, 2,898 had requested to extend their stay, a 66% decrease from the same period in 2019.
In contrast, 89,350 tourists from Kazakhstan had arrived in Phuket already so far this year, a 483% increase on the number for the same period in 2019, he said.
Col Thanet also highlighted the ‘White Accommodation Project’, which is the Phuket Immigration name for the campaign to target venues where foreigners are staying to ensure their stay at each venue is registered with Immigration.
Phuket Immigration had launched a new system to facilitate the registration of foreigners staying at accommodation venues, namely hotels, condos and privately rented properties, he added.
In the future, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be made with luxury villa and condominium projects “to allow juristic persons to support and cooperate in inspecting foreigners who come to stay”, Col Thanet noted
Such an MoU may serve as a model for the country, he said.
From Aug 1-31, 309,253 foreign tourists had arrived in Phuket, but 412,515 tourists were reported as staying at guest accommodations on the island, Col Thanet noted.
“Such data creates confidence in providing tourism safety to tourists,” he said.
In which areas tourists can buy and smoke marijuana was one of the key issues raised by consuls, said an official report of the meeting.
The official response by PPHO Deputy Chief Mr Somsuk was that people can smoke marijuana only in the area of their own residence, and they must not create a nuisance to neighbours or other people around.