Stories tagged with tourists
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Holidays That Costa Lot
British tourists would be better off traveling to Thailand for a holiday as opposed to the Costa del Sol, owing to the weaker pound and rising euro.
Sterling has lost 19 per cent of its value over the euro in the past year meaning holidaymakers get much less bang for their buck.
The Post Office surveyed 16 popular holidaying countries around the world and purchased 10 common items, with Australia topping the lot and Thailand the cheapest.
The basic purchases included a coffee from a cafe, an English newspaper, a bottle of mineral water from a supermarket, insect repellent and an evening meal for two.
The cost of these items in Thailand worked out at £28.58 and was easily the cheapest of the 16 countries surveyed. These same items in Spain, traditionally a cheap continental holiday destination, worked out at £59.24, while in France they were £68.97.
Italy was the most expensive place in Europe at £73.40, while a three-course meal for two with wine would cost around £42 - just £17.64 in Thailand. The same 10 purchases in Australia, however, was a staggering £88.97.
The US is one destination where the pound stretches further due to the weak dollar of late, but to travel on the continent is costing so much more.
British holidaymakers have already been putting off traveling to the continent as a result of the strong euro and worldwide ‘credit crunch’, while many have been looking at destinations farther afield with Thailand fitting the bill for a growing number of people.
Even Thailand has become more expensive, though, owing to a combination of a stronger baht and the removal of the onshore rate reserve, more expensive rice, and higher oil prices.
Posted by: Andrew on 25 Apr 2008, 18:08 -
Aussies top tourist arrivals in Phuket
More Australians than any other nationality visited Phuket during the first three quarters of 2007.
Once all figures have been added up, totals are expected to exceed five million tourists; the greatest percentage of foreign tourists being Aussies.
Figures for the first three quarters of 2007 in Phuket, announced at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall, saw Australia with 275,275 tourists; the UK with 212,884; and Korea 164,283.
Next came China, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Russia, Malaysia and the US, respectively, for the top-ten list.
Total foreign visitors for the same period were 3,499,158, which indicated an annual total of over five million tourist arrivals; the first time five million has been surpassed.
Vice-President of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), Bhuritt Maswongsa, said that tourists to Phuket had generated as much as 70 billion baht in revenue.
Khun Bhuritt said that Phuket tourism promotion (roadshows) to Australia, the UK, Japan and Russia in 2006 was partly responsible for the added growth.
India, China and the Middle East will be targeted by roadshows in 2008, which the PTA acknowledges as important tourist sources during the low season.
The actual statistics for tourist arrivals to Phuket for 2007 will be officially released by the TAT towards the end of February.
More on Phuket
Posted by: Andrew on 01 Feb 2008, 19:16