Phuket – Phuket is urgently assisting the victims of the tour boat sinking in the province last week, while preparing to impose measures to restore foreign tourists’ confidence.
Phuket Governor Noraphat Plodthong said Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports, Phongphanu Sawetrun had traveled to the province to extend his condolences on the loss of life in the boat tragedy and expedite the rehabilitation for the casualties.
The governor said Thailand needs to restore confidence quickly since Chinese tourists are an important market for Thai tourism. Each year, 10 million Chinese tourists visit Thailand and spend more than 500 billion baht. Around three million of them travel to Phuket and spend around 150 billion baht.
Around 10% – 15% of Chinese tourists have cancelled their advance bookings in Phuket after the boat catastrophe. The governor however expressed his confidence that Thailand’s immediate tourism stimulating measures will help restore confidence rapidly.
Around 64 million baht will be spent on care and compensation for the affected people. A total of 2.1 million baht from both the government and private sector will be given to a family representative of each of the dead passengers.
