More than 20,000 people are expected to join the festivities for the Patong Carnival this year, which gets underway on November 1.

The three-day event will maintain its traditional full schedule of entertainment, displays and activities people to take part in, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup told a press conference last weekend.

“But for first time we the Patong Carnival and the Patong Seafood Festival will be held at the same time, so people will have much to enjoy,” she said.

“All the parades and cultural shows will still be part of the festival, but the big attraction will be the Seafood Festival. This year is the 30th year of the carnival, and we want to bring something new and exciting to the event, and this year we will deliver more creativity. We hope to push our city to the next level and generate creative tourism in the Patong area.”

Phuket Vice Governor Dr Prajiad Aksornthammakul, who was also at the press conference, said, “The Patong Canival is held around this time every year to signal that we are entering the [tourism] high season and to welcome tourists from all over the world.

“We are very happy to present the Seafood Festival this year so people can enjoy the great variety of food Patong has to offer. This is another way of attracting more tourists to the area and bringing new markets and new customers.”

The focus area of the Seafood Festival will be Bangla Rd, Soi Post Office (Soi Praisanee) and Soi Dr Wattana, the latter two of which join the beach road, Mayor Chalermluck explained.

All the activities and attractions in the two festivals combined will be allocated into different zones, she added.

“First up, the Entertainment Zone will be packed with all sorts of performances, including live music and cultural shows,” Mayor Chalermluck said.

“There will also be a stage presentations of local seafood, as well as presentations highlighting the plight of endangered marine animals and marine environmental protection and conservation.”

The “Global Tastes Seafood Zone” will feature international food with seafood, while the “Local Way Zone” will be dedicated to street food and local cuisine.

“The Thai Seafood Sensation Zone will offer Thai food with seafood as the main ingredient, and the Asian Seafood Zone will have all sorts of dishes from Japan, Vietnam, Korea, India and China.

“And, of course, there will be the Bangla Rd Zone, which will feature street art and an exhibition relating the history and cultural heritage of Patong,” said Mayor Chalermluck, who is a native of the popular resort town.

“At this zone you will have the chance to view rare photographs of Patong in the old days, photographs of our forefathers and their way of life, their customs and beautiful costumes,” she said.

The annual parade, renowned for its stunning costumes and floats, will begin at 4:30pm on November 1, starting from on Phang Muang Sai Kor Rd , snaking its way right onto Prachanukroh Rd, right again onto Thaweewong Rd (the beach road) and finally right onto Bangla Rd.

All live entertainment during the festival will be performed on stages at the beach end of Bangla Rd.

The full programme of events for the festival has yet to be set, The Phuket News was told today (Oct 13).

“But we expect to announce the full programme in the next few days,” one representative from the festival organiser said.

Phuket International Airport celebrated its 27th anniversary yesterday (Oct 9), as it prepares to become the gateway to the Andaman once the expansion project is complete.

Director of Phuket International Airport, Monreudee Kaidpan said, “From October 2014 to September 2015 the airport has serviced 12.53 million passengers., even though it wasn’t built to handle that number.

“The airport was originally built to handle 6.5 million passengers. However, once the expansion is complete it will be built to handle 12.5 million passengers.

“As of today, 70 per cent of the new terminal is complete and is actually ahead of schedule. By 2016, when the expansion is complete, we will be ready to be the gateway for international tourists visiting the Andaman region.

“There will be parking available for 10 more airplanes and 1,000 cars,” she said.

“We expect that the new terminal will be in full operation by February 14, 2016. At that time the current terminal building will be for domestic flights and the new terminal for international flights.

“For next year’s budget will will be able to improve the airport’s runway to include a Runway End Safety Area (RESA).

“We will also be appointing Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) to service all passengers coming through the airport effectively. They will also handle matters including risk management and disaster situations,” concluded Ms Monreudee.

The Thai cabinet approved, Tuesday, two extra government holidays in mid-2016 to allow residents to enjoy two long holiday weekends and boost domestic tourism.

According to the Cabinet’s meeting report, it approved Friday 6 May and Monday 18 July as extra holidays next year.

Since Coronation Day in 2016 falls on 5 May, which is a Thursday, the Cabinet approved a Ministry of Tourism and Sports proposal to declare Friday, 6 May, an extra holiday, to enable residents to take a four-day break from 5 to 8 May.

In addition, Monday 18 July will be an extra holiday, which will give residents a five-day holiday from Saturday 16 to Wednesday 20 July. 19 July is Asarnha Bucha Day and 20 July marks the start of the Buddhist Lent.

Beach vacationTourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said the two extra-long holidays will help boost domestic tourism as statistics show that 70% of Thai people like to travel during a long holiday.

Next year, the country will promote an additional 12 must-visit destinations on top of the 12 hidden gems that were covered in this year’s campaign.

The additional 12 “don’t miss” destinations are: Lamphun, Phrae, Phitsanulok, Chaiyaphum, Surin, Suphanburi, Nakhon Pathom, Sa Kaeo, Rayong, Ranong, Satun and Phattalung.

The first campaign promotes Lampang, Nan, Phetchaburi, Loei, Buri Ram, Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram, Chanthaburi, Trat, Chumphon, Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The ministry has set revenue targets for tourism at THB2.3 trillion for 2016 and THB2.5 trillion for 2017. This year, tourism revenue is projected to reach THB2.2 trillion.

Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Srisuda Wanapinyosak has revealed that the TAT is expecting Chinese tourists visiting Thailand during 1-7 October 2015 to be as high as 160,000 persons, a 40 percent increase compared to the previous year.

She points that the forecasted influx of Chinese tourist during this period will circulate up to 4.3 billion baht to Thailand’s economy.

Chinese tourists are the main segment of Thailand’s tourists. 60 percent of Chinese visitors are travelling through tour packages, while another 40 percent are free independent travelers (FIT).

The TAT now expects the gross number of tourists visiting Thailand in 2015 to be at 29.92 million, higher than the previous forecast of 28.8 million, and expects income from tourism to be at 1.44 trillion baht, higher than the previous target of 1.4 trillion.

On this matter, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) advisor Siddiwat Cheewarattanaporn has said that it is likely that Chinese tourists inbound to Thailand could reach 7 million as the country has already welcomed 4.7 million Chinese visitors during the first seven months of this year.

The increased number of tourists could pressure facilities operation capacity, thus he suggested that the government should help the tourism sector prepare to receive more tourists for the remainder of this year.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival returns in mid-October with locals observing nine days of purification in homage to the gods.

Set in Phuket’s old town, way beyond the province’s white sand beaches and the throbbing bar scenes of Patong and Bangla, the Vegetarian Festival gets underway on October 13 for a nine-day ritual of purification and atonement. It’s an intimate and largely local affair that has its roots in the days when the island was home to Chinese immigrants and Australian miners braving the mosquito-infested rivers and rainforest for tin.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is nine days and nights of meat-free cleansing of the body, prayers, chants and eye-popping and gruesome processions that always draw devotees, visitors and street photographers to the island.

The festival originated 150 years ago in the Chinese-speaking community of Kathu when a visiting theatre troupe from China, struck down by a mysterious and deadly epidemic, decided they had fallen ill because they had failed to pay respect to the nine Emperor Gods of Taoism.

The performers then, the legend goes, erected temples and held a vegetarian festival to ward off any residual bad luck. Apparently the unorthodox remedy worked, and the annual vegetarian festival has been held ever since. Abstention from sex and alcohol were added in later years for absolute purification.

This year’s festival runs from October 13 to 21 and is centred in Phuket’s Old Town, where the heritage Shino-Portuguese shophouses and Chinese shrines provide a unique backdrop to the rituals.

The whole town flies yellow flags to mark the beginning of the spiritual retreat.

On the eve of the festival, a large pole is raised at 40 Chinese shrines around Phuket, and the nine Emperor Gods of Taoism are invited to descend from the heavens and take part in the ceremonies.

At midnight, nine lanterns are lit and hung on the poles, meaning that the Vegetarian Festival has begun. Chanting and reciting of mantras to the sound of solemn percussion breaks out at dawn and continues on until the festival ends eight days later.

Food stalls also fly yellow flags to indicate they serve only vegetarian food, and devotees dress in white for the entire nine days to show they intend to remain pure and peaceful.

Visitors can expect ear-splitting and colourful parades, burning incense, peaceful chants, loads of vegetarian food and, of course, the scary procession of self-mutilated devotees roaming the old town.

Peace, however, has it violent side.

While the vegetarian food is tempting and the Chinese shrines are gaily decorated, most visitors focus on the maa song, the human mediums inhabited by the gods during the festival.

The maa songs manifest supernatural powers and perform self-mutilation so they can absorb evil from other individuals and ensure a fortunate life for the entire community. Each morning begins with processions through the town.

At dawn, one can find scores of young men gathering in the inner sanctums of the temples, preparing themselves for self-mutilation. At the base of the shrines, they go into a trance, begin speaking in tones and don colourful aprons with Taoist symbols, as doctors make cuts at both sides of their mouths. It’s a painful “pleasure”, at least in the eyes of beholders.

The tin has long gone and for the past several decades, Phuket has been famous for its beaches, fine-dining and hedonistic lifestyle. This immersive festival, however, reveals the island’s wild and enigmatic side. Prepare yourself for the shocking.

The festivity culminates with a procession of people deep in a trance, piercing their tongues and cheeks and other parts of their anatomy with spears, daggers, sharpened branches and anything else that comes to hand. Possessed by the spirits of nine deities, these ascetics apparently feel no pain and show little sign of real injury.

The festival will end on October 21. The poles will be uprooted, as nine Emperor Gods of Taoism return to where they belong.

AirAsia will continue its international expansion from Pattaya‘s U-Tapao Airport in November 2015, with the launch of new direct services to Macau and Singapore.

Following the launch of its inaugural international routes from U-Tapao, which commenced this month to the Chinese cities of Nanning and Nanchang, Thai AirAsia has now confirmed that it will start linking Pattaya with Macau and Singapore from 27 November.

The Macau route will operate daily, departing U-Tapao at 1115 and arriving in the former Portuguese colony at 1450. The return service will then leave Macau at 1525 and arrive back in U-Tapao at 1710.

The Singapore service meanwhile, will leave U-Tapao daily at 1735, arriving at Changi Airport at 2040. The return service will depart Singapore at 2125, getting back into U-Tapao at 2240.

Like all Thai AirAsia’s flights, the new routes will be operated using 180-seat, all-economy Airbus A320 aircraft.

And also from 27 November, the airline will launch a new daily domestic service between U-Tapao and Udon Thani, in northeast Thailand.

“The reason we are continuously launching new routes from U-Tapao Airport this year end is because we see its potential and the opportunity to draw travel and investment to the eastern region, whether it is to the popular entertainment destination, Pattaya or to Rayong’s industrial centre,” said Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia.

“We especially want to allow Chinese and foreign travellers to conveniently access the eastern region while affording residents of the area new exciting ways to travel with AirAsia.”

By the end of 2015, AirAsia plans to have two A320 aircraft based at U-Tapao Airport. AirAsia’s Malaysian unit also flies direct from Kuala Lumpur to U-Tapao.

Russia is Thailand’s largest source of visitor arrivals from Europe. It is also one of six countries that contributes more than one million annual arrivals, and one of only two countries that generates more female visitors than males.

Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, H.E. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, speaking at the OTDYKH-Leisure show held recently in Moscow, expressed her confidence that arrivals from Russia, will increase to almost 1 million visitors in 2015, from the current January-July 2015 total of 506,071.

In 2006, Russian visitor arrivals totalled 187,658. By 2014, this number had surged to 1.6 million Russian visitors.

Thailand, like many other destinations popular with Russian visitors, is feeling the impact of the decline in Russian outbound travellers. Holidays overseas have become more expensive as the ruble devalued. Against the Thai Baht the ruble has decline over 30%. However TAT is confident that the Russian economy will soon be back on track.

TAT has been participating regularly in the Moscow show since 1995. The trade delegation included over 14 Thai exhibitors representing hotels, tour operators and travel-related agencies. It has played a major role in helping make Russia one of Thailand’s top ten sources of visitor arrivals.

Russia is Thailand’s largest source of visitor arrivals from Europe. It is also one of six countries that contributes more than one million annual arrivals, and one of only two countries that generates more female visitors than males.

One reason for the Minister’s projected turnaround is the outcome from the April 2015 visit to Thailand by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The visit was explicitly designed to boost bilateral trade and investment between Russia and Thailand, Russia’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.

The two countries, as well as signing new trade agreements, also signed a tourism cooperation agreement covering the period 2015-2017.

At the OTDYKH-Leisure show, the Russian travel industry was informed about the agreement to further develop Utapao, Pattaya/Rayong’s International Airport. The first phase includes a new passenger terminal, which is expected to be completed in June 2016 and capable of handling three million passengers a year.

This will help Thailand better handle the growing demand by scheduled and charter flights from Russia to land directly at Utapao.

Russians can obtain a 30-day visa on arrival at major international Thai border checkpoints. As of September 2015, there are seven direct scheduled flights per week between Bangkok and Moscow operated by Aeroflot Russia Airlines. In addition, numerous scheduled and charter flights operate between major cities in Russia, the CIS countries and Thailand.

Businesses ignoring the burgeoning Chinese tourist market do so at their own peril, warned experts at the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) Phuket chapter special seminar at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa last week.

“Phuket tourism has to adjust to ‘the new normal’ and not wait for things to go back to the way they were before. It’s no longer just the beach that attracts travelers,” said Bill Barnett, CEO of hospitality consulting firm C9Hotelworks, who moderated the event, held last Friday (Sept 18).

“This coming high season is a dynamic year as it will be the first high season with the Russian market greatly diminished, so get the yardstick out to measure the changes,” Mr Barnett challenged.

“While the rouble depreciated larger in the first and second quarters of 2014, many travelers had paid up their high season holidays for 2014/2015, so this year is the first time we go down the rabbit hole and see what the changes mean for hotels and tourism in Phuket.”

Guest speaker David Johnson, Managing Director of Delivering Asia Communications (DAC), rated the Chinese market as critical for Phuket tourism business survival.

“The Chinese market represents the single greatest opportunity the tourism industry in Thailand has perhaps ever seen. For Phuket, as Thailand’s premier tourism destination with its expanding infrastructure and upscale resort and property offerings, I don’t feel anyone can afford to ignore this,” he told The Phuket News this week.

“We have seen over six million Chinese arrive in Thailand in the first six months of this year or 35 per cent of the total number of tourists coming to Thailand. That’s more than double last year when a total of 5.3 million Chinese arrived.

“That is extraordinary growth and there are no signs of it slowing down. Even the mid-August bomb in Bangkok has not dampened the desire to come to Thailand – a top-five destination worldwide for Chinese travellers.”

Mr Johnson, as Managing Director of DAC, is in a position to know. DAC is a leading public relations firm in Asia specialising in the hospitality industry, with 10 operations worldwide and headquartered in Bangkok.

“The challenge is how to attract high end Chinese travellers to Phuket, to resorts and to real estate projects to come and stay, spend and buy. They way to do this is through a digital media strategy that has WeChat at its centre,” Mr Johnson explained.

Vanessa Zhu, DAC’s Shanghai-based digital marketing specialist and Communications Director for China, explained that accessing the high-end Chinese market required a two-pronged strategy.

“One is at the resort itself where Chinese speakers, a high level of personal service, organised and creative itineraries and menus and other collateral all need to be in Chinese,” she explained.

“To access the high-end China market, you need the tools in China to appeal to them. The most important is WeChat, a social media tool that combines all the functions of Facebook, Twitter, LINE, Skype, Instagram, Pinterest and PayPal, which are all banned.

“WeChat has 438 million users, 80% of whom are in China. Resorts need to have an account set up by an official company in China and managed. There is no way round this. It is also very important to invite influential bloggers to visit who have literally millions of followers who will rapidly engage and seek to book based on recommendations.

“We hosted a blogger to Manathai Koh Samui and 24 hours after his post 843,000 people had read it. This is a complete game changer.”

Showing her extensive experience and expertise in the field, Ms Zhu explained simply that Chinese travellers are influenced by other people.

“They follow others, so it is essential to build a presence on the mainland and a group of followers in the right target group,” she explained.

“Or access bloggers who can influence and build followers. But resorts need to have the right channels to influence and book set up. In many cases, this will be the same channel.”

Mr Johnson rated the importance – and the potential cost to a business – of ignoring the Chinese market as “the highest degree”.

“It is a market that will dominate more and more and resorts, hotels and property companies will need clear strategic plans and funds to support them to maximise the potential or get left behind,” he told The Phuket News.

“It will be like putting your head in the sand if businesses ignore this market. At the high end it is very sophisticated and lucrative and offers a tremendous opportunity to businesses in Phuket.”

Thailand said it expects that visitor arrivals from Russia will rebound in the coming months and years, following a recent downturn caused by the country’s economic woes.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently took part in the International Russian Travel Market-Leisure (OTDYKH-Leisure) trade show, where 14 Thai hotels, tour operators and travel companies were represented at the Thai Pavilion.

Russian visitor arrivals to Thailand have surged in the past decade, from just 188,000 in 2006 to 1.6 million in 2014. The TAT admitted it is “feeling the impact” of the recent decline in Russian outbound travellers, but said it is expecting the market to rebound soon. The TAT is projecting between 900,000 and one million Russian visitors this year.

This optimism follows the launch of a 30-day visa waiver scheme for Russian visitors, and increased air lift between the two countries. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also visited Thailand earlier this year and the two countries agreed to increase the trade turnover to US$10 billion by 2020.

Thailand and Russia have signed a tourism cooperation agreement covering the period 2015-2017, and Russia is planning to establish a cultural centre in Bangkok.

“We highly recognise the significance of the Russian market. We also all realise the current economic impact, which has affected all of us,” said Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism & Sports, who led the Thai delegation.

“We are continuing our promotions and programmes as normal. As such, we are here at the OTDYKH-Leisure 2015 to enhance the cooperation and partnership with you all in order to lead us out of the current situation.”

Emirates on Friday announced double daily flights between Dubai and Phuket, starting on December 1.

The airline says that the decision has been taken in response to high customer demand, in particular during the peak winter travel season. New flights will double current capacity and ensure better connections for travellers from cities in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East, via the airline’s Dubai hub.

Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said: “In response to strong demand, the introduction of a double daily service to Phuket will increase convenience and flexibility for visitors to the Southern region of Thailand, as well as make it easier for residents of the area to connect to Dubai and the rest of the world. With the ongoing expansion of Phuket International Airport set to double capacity, a twice-daily service provides Emirates with the perfect opportunity to further support the local travel and tourism industry.

“This newly added service will complement our existing six daily flights to Bangkok and our recent code-share agreement with Bangkok Airways, offering ease of connection to different cities across Southeast Asia to and from Dubai and providing a smoother, more convenient travel experience.”

Phuket Island is the gateway to the southern part of Thailand making it easier for people to expand their travels to Khao Lak, Phang-nga, Koh Samui, Trang, as well as Krabi and Koh Lipe.

EK396 will operate four times per week and will depart Dubai at 2255 hours and arrive at Phuket at 0800 hours the following day. The return flight, EK397 will depart Phuket at 0930 hours and arrives in Dubai the same day at 1320 hours.

EK394 will operate three times per week and will depart Dubai at 2005 hours and arrive at Phuket at 0510 hours the following day. This flight provides an attractive departure time for travellers from the UAE and Middle East. The return flight, EK395 will depart Phuket at 0710 hours and arrives in Dubai the same day at 1100 hours.

In addition to Phuket, Emirates flies 42 times a week to Bangkok, and from 1 December, four of the six daily flights to Bangkok will be served by an A380. The airline also recently announced a code-share agreement with Bangkok Airways, which added 19 routes across a number of Southeast Asian cities, and a total of 14 new destinations to the Emirates global network, seamlessly connecting customers to new tourist destinations.