Phuket as a Mice city
Phuket has good base air infrastructure and many luxury hotels and resorts. It is a well-known destination which has the beaches and the Old Town as two of its main selling points.
In the future we need a place to hold conferences, so now we are waiting on the private sector to invest in this, as the Government has put a halt on the state-led plan.
I support the idea for Phuket to be a Mice (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) destination, as it has strong parallels with the tourism industry here.
A Mice centre would not only be for conventions, but could also host many other groups, such as international sports teams that come regularly for events, or sports or environment groups.
The positive side of Phuket being a Mice city is that it can lead to the improvement of infrastructure, the environment, and encourage people to visit our island.
Also, it creates more income for our community because Mice travellers don’t only spend time in their hotels, they go out and buy products andservices from the community – this brings in more revenue.
Public transport
Late last month the Phuket Marine Office revealed details of its plans to build an L-shaped pier at Phuket International Airport to provide passenger transport by sea to Patong.
This will help reduce the number of cars on our roads and give visitors to Phuket more options, but may not be an option during monsoon season, which is a dangerous time on the water.
I think that this project will start off small, with a few boats, and then will keep growing.
I think it will be similar to the reaction to public transport systems in Bangkok (such as the BTS, MRT and BRT) after they were constructed.
In the first three or four months around 25 per cent of the population used the public transport, and it was not busy. But gradually customers increased and now many people use the service.
This will just be one option for tourists to get to their hotels, as well as the proposed airport bus service. We have to be in harmony as an island, so if anyone has a problem with these two planned services, they should come and talk to me, so we can discuss what the solution will be.
Phuket has changed a lot in recent years and the demand for good public transport is increasing – I don’t believe anyone will lose any income when these two services are put in place.
This is a fundamental service for our island. We need to make this work so everyone can earn a living.
The Kathu-Patong tunnel
This is a long-term project for the island and will cost a lot of money.
The Government has assigned the Express Authority of Thailand (EXAT) to take responsibility for the project, and EXAT will carry out engineering, economic, financial and environmental studies about how the tunnel will affect the area, and those who live in and around it.
For those that disagree with the project, we will find a solution.
We aren’t forcing you to leave your homes, but we will find the best solution for everybody, and we all have to agree on each point.
We need to help each other
Authorities will do whatever it takes to enforce the law, and take it seriously. But not every problem will be solved within a day.
We need co-operation from Phuket citizens to avoid creating the problems in the first place (for example, crime) and help keep an eye out for us.
We are not neglecting issues such as Phuket’s wastewater problems, or the recent motorcycle arson, but we need co-operation from every sector of the community.