If you’re looking to be inspired furthermore by what Phuket has to offer, why not go for a more relaxed setting at perhaps a café or coffee shop? We’ve scoured the city, and these are the six best spots to get your pastry or caffeine fix.

1. Hock Hoe Lee
There are few cafes in Phuket as family oriented as Hock Hoe Lee. With three generations of one family serving up savory coffee for more than 50 years, the sheer professionalism is undeniable. The secret to the coffee here is the careful selection and inspection of the beans that are bought from farmers who know how to keep the beans fresh. Originally started by Mr. Long, who sourced his coffee beans from a friend in Malaysia, which he in turn roasted himself with sugar became a hit among locals. So with a charming atmosphere serving up the sweetest, cleanest and freshest coffee, together with bags of coffee piled high and a snack menu for when you feel peckish, you really can’t go wrong with a visit here.

Address: 28/9, Wiset Road, Rawai, Muang, Phuket 83130, Thailand
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday; 7:30 am – 6:00 pm, Sunday; 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Tel: +66 (0) 76 381 975

2. Kombat Café
Started by an Australian who worked in the film industry and then travelled to Phuket to learn Muay Thai, this little café serves up some of the tastiest coffee on the island, along with protein shakes, fruit juices and delectable ciabatta burgers. So if you value beautiful beans and expert brewing, what better place to spend your time relaxing than by taking a trip to Kombat Café.

Address: 50/35, Soi Sai Yuan, Moo 7, Rawai, Phuket, 83130 Thailand
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday; 9:00 am – 7:30 pm
Tel: +66 (0) 99 402 8737

3. Gallery Café
If you are looking for a cosy café that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner then Gallery Café is the spot! While it can get super busy, that doesn’t detract from that fact that the atmosphere is hypnotic. This stylish café has food that is simple and good. Select from sandwiches, salads, burgers and Italian food, as well as lighter snacks for breakfast and scrumptious pastries that will leave you in heaven. Service is charming and friendly, so it is definitely a lovely place in every way.

Address: Amphor Road, Talad Yai, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday; 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tel: +66 (0) 89 103 7000

4. Factory Café
A popular spot for design and media professionals, the Factory Café is elegant yet comforting. Located in the basement of a hidden building, the luxury interior together with its Greek architecture, which consists of a brick counter, concrete floor, brown leather sofas and metal folding chairs will leave you loving every minute of your visit here. The food presentation and taste is nothing short of amazing, with each dish being unique. Also choose from their selection of coffee and delectable cakes that has everyone with a sweet tooth wanting more.

Address: 81, 83 Satoon Road, Phuket, Thailand 83000
Opening Hours: 10:30 am – 11:00 pm
Tel: +66 (0) 91 820 6900

5. Café Y Té
The minute you walk through the doors of Café Y Té, you will be greeted with the most comforting smell of coffee wafting through the air. To add to the intoxicating smell, choose from delectable pastries such as the blueberry chessecake, chocolate fudge cake, carrot cake and the apple crumble among many others. To turn your attention further to this café, the décor is colourful and cheerful with its faux-pine floors, garden chairs, round glass top tables, sofas and white bar stools, so need we say more about why you should head on down?

Address: 92/1 Phang Nga Road, Talad Yai, Muang, Phuket, 83000 Thailand
Opening hours: Monday – Saturday; 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tel: +66 (0) 76 213 588

6. Delish Café
No trip to Phuket would be complete without heading to Delish Café. Run by Australian family Greg and Liz Johnston who both have experience in the food and wine industries, you will never leave feeling dissatisfied. With coffee that wakes you up before you go-go along with the added vanilla ice cream that bobs aimlessly on top, more popularly known as their ice coffee, you will be surely coming back day after day. For those foodies out there, the tortilla with a side salad is a great way to start the afternoon, or perhaps you can opt for a variety of toasties, or their classic lamb and beef burgers. Additionally, their cakes are just as amazing with the option of the chocolate and carrot cake, or the muffins and cookies. Don’t forget to try their freshly squeezed juices to quench your thirst on those very hot days!

Address: Wiset Road, Rawai, Muang, Phuket 83130, Thailand
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday; 8:00 am – 6:00 pm, Sunday; 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Tel: +66 (0) 76 384 680

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has re-launched its main website, www.tourismthailand.org, which has been re-designed and re-developed to provide a user-friendly viewing experience across all devices from desktop computers to mobile phones. Meanwhile, the TAT Newsroom website, www.tatnews.org, also boasts a fresh look with a responsive design.

New design of www.tourismthailand.org

Dr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of TAT said, “In this ever-changing world, TAT is continuously developing our strategies and tools to reach as many global travellers as possible to promote the wide plethora of Thailand’s tourism products and services. Our new-look websites, both featuring a responsive design – the latest trend in website development, reflect our intentions to provide all the information and functionality that our travellers and media friends require to plan a trip to Thailand or to learn the latest news and updates on our travel and hospitality industry.”

Re-launched in late 2015, www.tourismthailand.org now features the “AIR” design concept: Application – providing all functionality for a user-friendly viewing experience; Infographic – providing tourist information through stunning imagery; and Responsive Design – allowing easy reading and user-friendly navigation across all devices.

With a simple design and large stunning imagery, www.tourismthailand.org allows travellers to see beautiful pictures of Thailand from across the country, with an annual calendar highlighting top events and festivals in each month, a destination section providing information of tourist attractions in each of the 77 provinces, and a list of TAT’s special events and projects. In addition, social-media aficionados can follow or share TAT’s tourism information and activities through the ‘Yours & My Thailand’ section at Facebook: Amazing Thailand; Instagram: TourismThailand; and Google+: +Thailand.

Meanwhile, also re-launched in late 2015, the re-developed and updated version of the TAT Newsroom website, www.tatnews.org, brings its user-friendly viewing experience to the next level with a new UXI design approach. The website has enhanced its ability to support the international media with news and updates on Thailand’s travel and hospitality industry, bearing in mind: U (user) – user behaviours and devices used to access the website’s news and updates; X (experience) – friendly design to create a first impression and allow easy navigation for international media; and I (interface design) – friendly functionality for easy reading and navigation across all devices.

The 19th year of The Bay Regatta is expected to be the biggest yet and will firmly stand out as one of South East Asia’s finest yachting events. Taking place in some of the most beautiful scenery the region has to offer, the four days racing and late night partying will bring a buzz of excitement to Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi.

The dates for the Bay Regatta 2016 will be:
17th – 21st February 2016.
programme will be as follows:-
Wed 17th – Registration and Opening Part, CHANDARA RESORT & SPA, AO PO.
Thurs 18th – Race Day 1 , Phuket – KoH Yao, PRESENTATION PARTY AT PARADISE KOH YAO.
Friday 19th – Race Day 2, KoH Yao – Krabi, FREE NIGHT IN KRABI.
Saturday 20th – Race Day 3. Racing in Krabi, PRESENTATION PARTY at AO NANG VILLA RESORT.
Sunday 21st – Race Day 4, Krabi to Phuket, Presentation Party at O2 Beach Club, Ao Chalong.

The number of Chinese tourists coming to Thailand each year is expected to grow by 16 percent annualy over the next five years, even though there’s a slowdown in the Chinese economy, according to brokerage CLSA.

The growth in Chinese tourism is attributed to rising incomes and more desire to travel, as visa restrictions are eased, according to Aaron Fischer, CLSA regional head of consumer and gaming research.

“Chinese people are getting richer and aspirations are rising for more adventurous and exotic locations, driven by social media influence”, he said, adding “The first step is to go to destinations in Asia”.

Chinese tourists have helped drive growth in the Thai tourism sector for several years. Last year, Thailand received more than 8.3 million tourists from China, around 36 percent of all arrivals.

A total of 109 million Chinese travelled overseas in 2015, spending US$229 billion in destination countries, a new report has revealed.

Figures published by GfK this week show that the Chinese public’s appetite for international travel is stronger than ever, despite the headwinds currently affecting the Chinese economy. China is now by far the world’s largest global source market for international travel, both in terms of visitor numbers and spending.

Regional travel still represents the highest proportion of Chinese outbound trips. By the start of November 2015, the top five favourite destinations for Chinese travellers (counting air and overnight visits) were South Korea (representing a traveller increase of 112% since 2011), Thailand (up 263%), Hong Kong (up 37%), Japan (up 157%) and Taiwan (up 54%).

But the long-haul market is also on the rise. Europe remains the most popular destination for Chinese travelling outside of Asia, showing an increase of 97% in the last four years. This is followed by North America (up 151%) and the Middle East (up 177%). Africa remains the region least visited by Chinese tourists, but this could be changing, as visits have risen by 306% since 2011.

And this surge in global travel appears to be being driven by the so-called millennial market. According to GfK data, 50% of China’s outbound travellers are aged 15-29. A further 37% are aged 30-44 and 10% are 45-59.

The sheer size of the millennial group makes it an attractive target audience for destinations, according to GfK. And this is heightened by the fact that 66% of Chinese millennials belong to the high income bracket. Not only that, but their financial standing is expected to increase as their careers advance, since 70% of millennials hold executive or professional jobs.

GfK also noted that Chinese millennials “cherish freedom more than their parents or grandparents”, wanting to pursue “meaningful, adventurous and exciting experiences”. They are also technologically savvy, with almost every traveller owning a smartphone and being active on social media platforms.

Thai AirAsia has unveiled plans to launch the first direct service between Phuket and Wuhan.

Commencing on 1 February, in time for Chinese New Year, the new route will operate daily using a 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft.

The outbound flight, FD808, will depart Phuket at 1715 and arrive in Wuhan at 2300. The return service, FD809, will then leave the Chinese city at 2345 and arrive back in Phuket at 0315. The flight time is just over four hours.

“Our inaugural flight for the Phuket-Wuhan route will be on 1 February, which is also the start of the Chinese New Year festival. During the long holiday, we would like to invite residents in and around Wuhan to visit Phuket to experience Thailand’s world famous beaches and attractions,” said Santisuk Klongchaiya, Thai AirAsia’s commercial director.

The new service will mark the first direct link between Phuket and Wuhan, a city of approximately 10 million people in central China’s Hubei province.

The 13th Phuket International Boat Show opened it’s doors today to an eager public with one of the strongest line-ups of marine and lifestyle products in the show’s history. Commonly referred to as “Asia’s favourite boat show” it has indeed become Phuket’s Boat Show, is the longest running marine and lifestyle show in South East Asia and will run over four days from 7th to 10th January at the award-winning Royal Phuket Marina.

More than 60 yacht brands from around the world are displaying at this year’s Phuket International Boat Show including four superyachts and two of the largest multihulls ever seen in Thailand. Boats ranging from 20 foot upwards, both sail and power, are open for viewing by an expected 6,000 visitors during the show.

“I am proud to say the Phuket International Boat Show is a sell-out. All the in-water space is taken and the Exhibition Hall looks fantastic. Following the Thai Government announcement of a new 12-month superyacht charter licence for foreign-flagged vessels, we have seen a notable increase in enquiries from superyacht brokers and agents around the world.

“What is very encouraging though is not just the quality and size of some of the boats in the show this year, but also the variety: there are more sailboats and multihulls than ever before, the smallest boat on display is 20 foot and there are entry level boats for under THB2 million,” commented Mr. Andrew Dowden, Managing Director of Andaman Marine Consultants, organisers of the Phuket International Boat Show.

In addition to yachts for sale, there are charter companies, yacht service companies, marine products and water toys, as well as a range of luxury cars, properties and more on offer in the waterside Exhibition Hall and Town Square.

“This year’s mix of exhibitors really is one of the most diverse yet. We have luxury property offerings from Phuket and beyond, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and BMW, and every conceivable marine product and brand showing their wares. In addition, there are lots of activities for families and children to enjoy making the boat show a fun day out for all,” added Mr. Dowden.

2016 Phuket International Boat Show in numbers:

• Over 60 international yacht brands represented and more than 120 businesses exhibiting.
• 1,768 foot (539 metres) is the total length of boats on display.
• Total value of boats on display is more than THB4 billion.
• There are three boats valued approximately THB360 million each and the cheapest is less than THB2 million.
• Total value of products on offer at the show is more than THB15 billion.

With a world-class infrastructure Phuket continues to attract wealthy visitors, yacht owners and investors to its shores every year. 40% of the world’s population lives within a six hour flight of Phuket and within easy access are two of the world’s biggest countries – India and China. With three billion people on Phuket’s doorstep and spectacular cruising grounds the potential for yachting and marine leisure tourism is huge, underscoring Phuket’s position as the marine destination of choice in Asia.

The 13^th Phuket International Boat Show is open daily 11:00 to 19:00 from 7^th to 10^th January at Royal Phuket Marina.

For more details, visit www.phuketboatshow.com or www.facebook.com/PIMEXPhuketInternationalBoatShow.