Niet alleen Phuket .
Airline Setbacks Will Slow Phuket, Too
By Alan Morison
Tuesday July 22, 2008
TRENDS
IT IS PROBABLY only a matter of time now before Phuket feels the airlines pinch. Depending on flights for its tourism lifeblood, the whole Andaman region should prepare now for a deep, deep low season.
Carriers around the world are reacting to rising oil prices, although unlike One-Two-Go, they do not have safety issues to resolve.
Qantas, BA, Thai Air, Ryanair, China Airlines, Delta, Spanair and Norwegian Air are among the brands that have cut routes and, in some cases, staff.
The number of passengers passing through Thai airports remains slightly up on last year but is steadily slipping back day by day.
About 25 airlines have closed already this year. Industry experts are warning that further failures in the travel industry are certain.
The reliable Bloomberg news agency reports that air industry losses may total more than $6.1 billion this year, the worst since 2003, according to the International Air Transport Association.
It's shaping as a double-whammy for the island's property industry as well.
While some salespeople continue to talk up the short-term property outlook, Phuket is not immune from the global downturn.
Economists are now predicting a recession across Europe that will be worse than in the US.
According to Britain's Daily Telegraph, Spain is now spiralling into the worst crisis since the Franco dictatorship.
''The economy is in dire straits,'' one expert is quoted as saying.
''Some of the house builders are going to go bust, it is as simple as that. Over 10 percent of Spain's economy has been building houses.
''This compares with six percent to seven percent in the US at the height of the bubble. The adjustment will be enormous,'' he told the Telegraph.
Spain and Phuket share delightful weather, and an unhealthy dependence on tourism and property.
