Phuket`s tourism sector breathed a collective sigh of relief as Chinese visitors began trickling…
Phuket`s tourism sector breathed a collective sigh of relief as Chinese visitors began trickling onto the island for the New Year festival.
Just over a month after the island was battered by massive tidal waves, the director of the local branch of the Tourism Authority of Thailand was able to report today that tourist numbers were finally picking up.
Mrs. Suwalai Pinpradap said that although visitor arrivals were still relatively low, the island was seeing a steady trickle of visitors from Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong, pushing hotel occupancy rates up to 30 percent.
To help promote tourism on the resort island, where the tourism industry was dealt a heavy blow by the tsunami, the TAT has joined hands with the local authorities to organize nostalgia-based Chinese New Year celebrations.
Events will include a religious ceremony performed by Mahayana monks, the parading of a status of the Goddess of Mercy, and a special tour taking in nine places of religious significance over the next three days.
Visitors will be able to see an exhibition of Phuket`s unique Sino-Portuguese heritage, a light and sound show, and performances by a troupe flown specially from China`s Hokkien Province.
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