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Thai Government Remaking Phuket as a
 World Class Tourism Destination

By Chatrudee Theparat, Bangkok Post, Thailand
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Oct. 4, 2003 - A comprehensive plan to make Phuket a world-class tourism destination will include an international convention centre worth four billion baht, an IT city and ventures to create a hub for health and medical services, duty-free trade, yacht and marina services and air cargo.

Officials also want to eliminate the 5 percent excise tax and 30 percent import tax on yachts, which have discouraged the development of a marina industry to serve affluent tourists. Phuket has lost a substantial portion of the yacht market to the tax-free Malaysian island of Langkawi.

A government committee on competitiveness yesterday approved the plan, which will also be a development model for provincial governors under the new CEO governor scheme.

In addition to Phuket, projects will be carried out in two other southern tourist destinations, Phangnga and Krabi, which are being promoted as top-class marine, ecotourism, beach and resort areas.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who chaired yesterday's meeting, said Phuket needed a facelift to compete with other tourism spots in the region.

An estimated five billion baht will be spent initially by various government agencies. Some projects to build basic infrastructure such as roads, waste and water treatment and piped water, have been finalized and the Phuket administration plans to spend 600 million baht next year on other necessary infrastructure.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said the province also needed significant upgrades in seaport, airport and convention facilities.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand will oversee the development of the convention centre to accommodate the increasing number of international exhibitions and other events being staged in Phuket. It will pick the location this month and it will spend 105 million baht for the initial design.

Dr. Somkid said the Board of Investment and the Public Health Ministry would support further development of the spa and health-care business. Operators would be eligible for investment incentives from the BoI.

The Finance Ministry, meanwhile, is expected to conclude a plan this month on making Phuket a duty-free zone. The plan has been discussed for many years but it has never been clear whether all or just parts of the island should be duty-free.

Mr. Somkid said Phuket also needed more modern shopping plazas for foreign tourists.

A study prepared for the competitiveness committee showed that foreign shoppers spent 800 baht a day on average in Phuket, compared with 1,100 baht in Chiang Mai and 1,600 baht in Bangkok.

The government also plans more training programs to develop human resources in the province.

Plans call for the training to cover 4,000 hotel workers, 1,000 in the transport sector, 1,000 people in restaurants, 1,000 in spa and health services, 1,500 employees of tour operators, 2,000 small business operators and 2,000 local civil servants.

-----To see more of the Bangkok Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bangkokpost.com

(c) 2003, Bangkok Post, Thailand. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

 
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