Phuket, demonstrating its remarkable ability to recover from both natural and man-made disasters, is now a pacesetter for renewal in the global tourism industry.
The total of 749,518 arrivals and departures in January is an increase of a remarkable 33.23 percent on the figure for the same month in 2009.
Not only that, it's well above the 635,060 for January 2008, when Phuket hummed along in the middle of a then-record high season.
At peak times lately, with multiple flights arriving or departing, Phuket airport has seemed to be bursting at the seams, with queues of passengers sometimes extending back 50 metres from the main terminal entrance scanner.
A massive increase in the number of flights appears the prime force driving the resurgence of the island as a holiday destination for international and domestic travellers alike.
January's total of 4524 flights represented a 30.49 percent increase on the same period in the previous year. That figure also even soars well above the 4155 flights recorded in January 2008, before the economic dip set in.
Biggest increase of all came among international passengers, up by 40.60 percent on January 2009.
Courtesy Phuket Wan |
