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NEWSLETTER No 80 – MAY 2011
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The sun is shining again and we are getting no more than the usual isolated brief tropical shower. Samui is getting back on
its feet but it will take time to recover fully, particularly the tourist industry which has been hard hit. The storms and their
effects were widely reported and pictures of crumbling seaside bungalows were all over the internet. Many hotels suffered
damage and the island infrastructure has taken a pounding with damaged and washed away roads, collapsed electric
poles, fallen rocks (see last months newsletter) etc. Samui is simply not set up to cope with these disasters and it is all
very well for Dr Prasert to be wise after the event (see report below) but maybe he could see his way clear to making the
island more accessible with realistic air fares and service that justifies the title “boutique”.
As a general rule we do not get involved with the sale of businesses but I do keep an eye out on what is going on in that
market. One of the reasons is that I have yet to find a business owner on Samui who has a realistic idea of the value of his
business and consequently the whole exercise is a waste of time. I have been presented with figures which do not even
justify the price they paid for the business when they bought it and now they want to sell at a higher figure still. The usual
comment is “Well if the buyer did this or that, they would make a lot of money” and they seem to think that justifies their
price tag. I have to bite my tongue and not ask why they do not do “this and that” to make the profits they believe are
there. There is a learning curve to any business and it takes time for a business to become established – the general rule is
three years. A good well run business, with a steady track record and not dependent on the personality of the seller can
make sense at the right price and provided there is sufficient time left on the lease to regain the invested capital. However,
so often small businesses are dependent on an individual, their personality and expertise and that does not carry over
when the business is sold. Buying an existing business is no guarantee of success and you really have to work out why
the present owner is selling – because if the business is as successful as he makes out – then why is he selling?
There is no international standard for the star rating system for hotels and star ratings are frequently approved in
accordance with the local practice and at the discretion of whichever national body is responsible for tourism and the
hospitality industry in that country. So a 5-Star hotel in one country may well not reach that category in another. There is
then the quandary of “Boutique” hotels. Quite an interesting article can be found here at Wikipedia. One definition I found
states “Small but exclusive property that caters to the affluent clientele with an exceptional level of service at premium
prices”. Bangkok Airways claims to be a “Boutique Airline” then one would transpose the words “property’ and “airline”.
The only issue I have with that is “exceptional level of service”. I do not travel on Bangkok Airways very often but I have to
say that the last few times I have the service has been less than exceptional in the extreme and on a par with the low cost
carriers operating in Thailand. This is a shame as when I started travelling between Samui and Bangkok several years ago,
the flight was something to enjoy and you could appreciate the service provided. That has all sadly gone. Fares have gone
through the roof and service through the floor. Whilst they were rightly complemented on the help they gave to the island
during the recent floods, the complaints from tourists about the way they were treated was a reflection of what a
monopolistic enterprise can get away with. Tourism is the life blood of the island and, as I have stated in previous
newsletters, this came about as a consequence of Bangkok Airways investment in the airport. There are many reasons for
the decline in tourism here but I just hope that Bangkok Airways understand that they have played more than their fair part
in this and return to the original standards of service we were once used to.
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Another busy month as you can see from the results below with new properties coming onto the market and a number of
price reductions. There is still no clear direction to the market at the moment but I do not think prices will go any lower in
the immediate future – except those where the asking price is still at historic levels. In the past few weeks we have seen
reductions in asking prices of between 15% and 41% with an average at 27%
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See also in particular the following New Listing – CTRL + click to follow the link:
NEW LISTING
3 Bed Villa in Chaweng
Available at - Baht 16.5 million
NEW LISTING
One Bedroom Apartment in Bophut
Available at Baht 3,100,000
NEW LISTING
Modern Office Building for lease in Bophut
Available at Baht 28 million
PRICE REDUCTION
2 Bed house with pool in Bang Po - Baht 6.5 million
New Price - Baht 5.2 million
PRICE REDUCTION
3 Bed house with pool in Bang Po - Baht 10 million
New Price - Baht 8.5 million
PRICE REDUCTION
2 Bed house with pool in Lipa Noi - Baht 8.5 million
New Price - Baht 6.8 million
PRICE REDUCTION
Villas near the beach in Bang Rak - Baht 3.9 million
New Price - Baht 2.5 million
PRICE REDUCTION
5 Bedroom modern hillside Villa with pool and sea views - Baht 40 million
New Price - Baht 25 million
PRICE REDUCTION
Sea view hillside Villa in Bang Makham - Baht 35 million
New Price - Baht 25 million
For Festivals around Thailand visit the Tourist Authority of Thailand website.
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Samui Express is on line and you can find them here
And you can find The Samui Gazette here - http://theSamuigazette.com/
Samui infrastructure damage tops B1bn Bangkok Post 4 April 2011
Tourism in 11 southern Thai provinces has been severely hit by recent heavy floods with damage to infrastructure on Koh Samui
alone estimated at more than one billion baht, said the Tourism Association of Koh Samui.
Samui was hardest-hit by storms and flooding but a lot of the damaged infrastructure is expected to be repaired and be ready for
tourists before the Songkran festival.
The other major tourist destinations affected by the floods are Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Phangnga. Bannasat Ruangjan, the
association's president, said hotel room reservations for the upcoming Songkran Festival were now about 50% of all available
rooms, down from 70% before the floods covered the southern island. Transport routes on Koh Samui, its airport and ports have
resumed operating. Some roads were damaged by the flooding but tourists and local residents have been able to use some detours.
"We never saw such heavy storms and flooding as this before," said Mr Bannasat. "It also came at an unusual time of year.
Chaweng and Lamai districts were the most heavily damaged. In these areas, the floods covered the first floors of many hotels."
Both local and international travellers have absorbed news about the damages in the South through TV, newspapers and websites.
Therefore, they are very concerned and shifted their plans to travel to other destinations instead.
"We just want to tell them that Samui is safe for travel right now," he said. "Although we hoteliers have faced many negative factors,
we have to encourage ourselves and business must go on." The association has asked 430 hotels on Samui to evaluate their
damages and report their estimates in the next few days, Mr Bannasat said. Most of the damages are to lobbies and public areas on
ground floors, kitchens and swimming pools. In light of last week's floods, authorities in Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United
States, Australia, the Czech Republic and New Zealand issued travel warnings to their citizens about the 11 flood-hit provinces.
No more soaks for Samui The Nation 27 April 2011
Shocked by this month's flash floods, officials vow to plan better
The southern resort destination of Samui got an urgent call from the Mother Nature when a relentless downpour turned into flash
floods earlier this month.
The catastrophe was deeply worrying for everyone on the island, not least because hotel occupancy dropped 40 per cent amid a
slew of cancellations. Many hotels have been completely deserted since news of the flooding spread around the globe.
"We must deal with the flooding issue seriously," Mayor Ramnate Jaikwang said as he joined thousands of airline and hotels workers
and tour operators for the spirit-lifting Samui Cleanup Day last Sunday. "People here have always taken the flooding problem for
granted, but we've never had flash floods this serious. We always just love to think that we can handle the rain."
Three days of unending precipitation - depositing 1,000 millimetres in all - provided a reality check. The island - which is known
around the world as a tropical paradise - was paralysed. Water streamed down the hills, submerging the town itself for several days.
The surrounding sea was too turbulent to allow easy access - or escape. Thousands of tourists were stranded at the piers and
airport. Last Sunday, residents showed up in the hundreds with booms and trash bags for the big cleanup, and by now Samui,
Phangan and Tao are fully recovered from the mess - in appearance, at least. The coconut-fringed beaches are blissful again, the
sun has taken to shining once more, and there is indeed a mojito to enjoy at storm's end. What's still missing, though, are the
tourists. Cheap publicity won't win them back overnight. To get them back to the island, Samui needs better land management and
better ways to cope when disaster strikes, says the president of Bangkok Airways, which flies to and from Samui more than 40 times
a day. "Like it or not, we're going to have to deal with unseasonable weather amid global warming," Dr Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth
declared during the cleanup on Sunday. "I suggest the town practise for the worst-case scenario, at least once a year - for everything
that could go wrong during a natural disaster. "Practice is very important for everyone - the medical teams, the foreign-speaking
guides and the emergency responders," Prasert said. "It helps us handle an emergency situation smoothly." Needless to say, an
efficient disaster-management plan would also go a long way toward regaining tourist confidence. Bangkok Airways and Samui's
Bangkok Hospital, with its emergency helicopter service, will give full support to the town in order to recover tourist trust, said
Prasert, who runs the hospital as well as the airline. "In case of emergency, the town can access our assets," he said. "Our airline
kitchen, for example, can feed hungry travellers basic meals for a good many days. The hospital will ensure tourists proper medical
care, even for those who can't afford the bill."
Resembling in contour a great bell emerging from the Gulf of Thailand, Samui has a range of mountains stretching north to south
from Yai Cape to Bang Namchuet Bay. Its beaches ring the island, from Bo Phut to Chaweng to Nathon, and they're all fully
commandeered by hotels and resorts. Above the hotels, the interior is a mottle of scattered shophouses, beer bars, motorbike shops
and garages. Imagine rivers of rainwater suddenly sweeping down from the mountains. The wall of hotels completely blocks the
water from the sea. A poorly planned drainage system does little to help the situation. "Samui needs to shape up its city plan a lot
because it's sprawled out so rapidly," Mayor Ramnate admitted. "There used to be sluices and other means to carry the water to the
sea, but unfortunately they've disappeared as developers made way for more resorts and hotels." The new city plan, he vowed, will
take sustainable land use into serious consideration. Landholders, for example, would be obliged to spare a portion of their property
for water drainage. Redesigning the city will be difficult, the mayor acknowledged. Samui is full of fortune-hunters who care only
about hatching more golden eggs. "We need to talk," Ramnate said. "We have to live with nature."
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Worst flooding’ in decade hits Samui Samui Express April 2011
Days of heavy rains across Southern Thailand have caused what local residents describe as Koh Samui’s worst floods in recent
memory. Most of the island’s main roads were inundated and rendered impassable. People climbed trees to escape the rising water
and many houses, bungalows and roads were destroyed by rampaging water. With dams and rivers threatening to burst and
overflow, hundreds of residents were evacuated from their homes. A number of deaths were being reported from various parts of the
South, caused mostly by mudslides. Samui had at least one fatality. In Lamai, a 19-year-old boy was electrocuted when water
caused a short-circuit in their house’s electrical wiring system. “This is the worst flooding (on the island).The situation is tragic. The
scale of the damage is damage is unimaginable,” said Tomas Ortiz, a Samui resident for the last ten years. Flights to and from the
island were suspended for days due to flooded runways, leaving thousands of tourists stranded at the airport and in their hotels.
Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said southern tourism will lose out in this year’s hot season.
Samui hotels, he said, were being inundated with cancellation calls.
Hotel occupancy in Samui is normally 70-80% at this time of year, but it has dropped to only 50-55% in the aftermath of the
widespread flooding. Provincial and municipal governments deployed hundreds of police and emergency workers around the island
to look after distressed residents, particularly those living along river banks, such as around Chaweng Lake. Urgent measures were
also being taken to stop the lake from breaching its banks. While floodwaters started receding Sunday, March 28, a lot of areas in
Chaweng, Lamai and Maenam remained under water. As we went to press, hundreds of holidaymakers stranded remained stranded
on the island for lack of outgoing flights. Hundreds of travelers made their way to Samui International airport after hearing reports
that two Bangkok Airways planes had managed to take off from the flooded runway early this week. The airline said PG100 and
PG104 had landed in Bangkok after leaving Samui with 376 passengers on board. Two more planes were said to be waiting on the
tarmac for a respite in the weather. An area of low pressure in the region has meant disruption of all modes of transport linking the
island with the mainland. Ferry services were also suspended and national and international flights to Koh Samui had been
cancelled. According to Bangkok Airways, around 2,100 passengers have not been able to get on a flight since the beginning of the
week. Some passengers have been braving the floods to visit the airport daily in the hope of being able to find a seat off the island.
Others have been spending their nights at the airport. Rain has continued to fall submerging many of the island’s roads, including the
airport’s runways. Damage to power lines has also caused electricity to some areas to be lost. The airport is currently relying on a
back-up generator and the check-in desks are being operated manually. The island’s authorities are continuing to evacuate people
from the worst of the flooding as well as get fresh water and food to those who need it.
Court offers hope to land-scam victims Samui Express April 2011
Foreigners who have invested in Samui lands but whose land titles, Chanote or Nor Sor. 3, were later canceled by the Land
Department for fraud have other recourse, according to a prominent lawyer, Sutham Siribunyawat of Sukhothai Inter Law.
Mr. Sutham said a recent Supreme Court decision has opened a window for victims of land scams that would allow them to recoup
their investments. A number of people, especially foreigners, have fallen victims to land scams, the lawyer said. They bought or
leased lands or property covered by land deeds that later turned out to be fraudulently secured, leaving them holding the proverbial
empty bag, he said. Most of these cases, he said, involved lands not covered by Chanote deeds at the time of the purchase. And as
they were being upgraded to Chanote, the Land Department would nullify the land ownership for being illegal.
In the new Supreme Court ruling, the lawyer said, victims of such land-purchase anomalies can seek redress from the Administrative
Court, particularly if it could be shown that the fraud-tainted land deal was attended by collusion, corruption or negligence on the part
of Land Department personnel. Sukhothai Inter Law, a law office with branches in Bangkok, Pattaya and Samui can help aggrieved
parties bring their cases to the court. The law office can be reached at sutham@sukhothaiinterlaw.com or by phone at 02-673-
0244-5.
Cheap air-sea route to BKK opens Samui Express April 2011
High-speed ferry operator Lomprayah has join hands with budget airline Solar Air to offer fast but cheap combined air-and-sea
transport service between Bangkok and Samui. Mr. Kitti Stevens Tharabuddhi, marketing manager of Lomprayah High Speed
Ferries Co., Ltd., said from Bangkok, passengers could fly to Chumpon, where Solar Air has daily frequency and then take a high-
speed Lomprayah ferry to Samui. Travel time between Bangkok and Chumpon is one hour and 15 minutes. A high-speed ferry trip
between Chumpon and Samui takes about three hours and 40 minutes. The daily Solar Air flight to Chumpon leaves the Don Muang
Airport in Bangkok at 9:45 a.m. It arrives in Chumpon at 11 a.m. in time for the early-afternoon ferry trip to Samui.
Solar Air’s website lists the fare (one-way) at Bt2,900, while Lomprayah has it at Bt1,100.
From Samui, a Lomprayah high-speed ferry leaves for Chumpon at 8 a.m., arriving there at 11:45 a.m., also in time for Solar Air’s
flight to Bangkok which leaves Chumpon at 2 p.m.
Styling itself as the “community airline serving secondary routes,” Solar Air began operations last year. It operates out of Bangkok’s
Don Mueang Airport offering services to Mae Sot, Nan, Roi Et, Hua Hin, Phrae and Chumpon using a 19-seat Dornier DO-228s and
EMB 110-P2 aircraft leased from Germany.
Solar Air plans to use a bigger aircraft to service the Bangkok-Chumpon route when passenger traffic starts to catch on.
Samui spa industry faces crisis Samui Express April 2011
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has been actively promoting Koh Samui as the country’s main wellness and spa destination.
But these efforts are being undermined, according to Wanwalee Tantikan, president of the Samui Spa Society, by an acute lack of
massage therapists. In recent years, the spa business has been a big money-maker on the island. Listed as one of Thailand’s
fastest growing health and wellness destinations, Samui has some of the country’s best spas and holistic wellness centers.
From aromatic steam bath, body scrubs and massages to holistic healing practices, these health centers and retreats offer the
utmost in rejuvenating the body, Ms. Wanwalee said. In line with this wellness-center boom, most hotels on the island have their own
spas and massage salons. The result, according to her, is a huge demand for spa and massage therapists.
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Unfortunately, supply of trained therapists has been unable to meet the increasing demand, leading to a near-crisis situation for the
local spa industry. Ms. Wanwalee urged the government to do something about the problem by setting up training center for spa
therapists. Unless action is done immediately to alleviate this problem, Samui’s thriving spa industry could collapse, she warned.
Mayor leads huge Koh Taen cleanup Samui Express April 2011
SAMUI mayor Ramnet Jaikwang led over a hundred people who descended March 6 on Koh Taen island off the coast of Samui to
undertake a massive cleanup of the island. The huge cleanup activity was a joint effort between the Koh Samui Municipality and the
Baan Koh Taen Conservation Club, with support from tourism operators, hotels, community organizations and students of Koh
Samui. Volunteers gathered and disposed of bags of garbage made up of Styrofoam food containers, plastic cups and bottles and
other trash left by campers and beachgoers. Just off the southern tip of Samui, the tiny island of Koh Taen is increasingly becoming
popular to tourists out for a quiet time on the beach. The island can be reached via local boats from the fishing village of Thong Krut,
not far from the Laem Sor Pagoda. The trip there takes about 15 to 20 minutes. The island has a small village with very limited
tourist facilities. It has only one restaurant and a few humble bungalows. Generally, there’s no electricity until nightfall.
But there’s a lot more to the island than a nice white sandy beach. At the southern end of the beach is a reef that makes a great
snorkeling spot, with lots of coral heads full of fish just below the surface. One needs a boat to reach the best spots.
On the west side of Koh Taen is a mangrove forest with a well-built boardwalk running through it. There are no cars or motorbikes on
the island.
Life beyond the beaches Bangkok Post 21 April 2011
Despite rapid development, Koh Samui still retains its low-key traditional charms
Always listed among the top-10 best holiday destinations in Asia, Koh Samui off Surat Thani attracts over a million tourists a year.
Surely the attractions are the sea, sand and sun. But beyond those white sandy beaches, we wanted to know more about how the
locals really live.
Keeping that in mind, we spent three days on the island, driving around and checking out unusual places of interest.
"Samui has changed so much I do not know how to describe it," said Samart, who was born on the island. He runs a monkey show
at a coconut plantation in Ban Hua Thanon. Although Samui has a monkey school and theatre where the simians dress up and
perform, the coconut plantation's monkey show is different.
Every day, his three pigtailed macaques take turns to host a show. The monkey climbs to the top of a tree to remove a coconut by
spinning it until it drops to the ground. The monkey can jump from one tree to another in the same show.
Samart does not sell coconut juice, but gives it to the audience for free. What he earns is an entrance fee from each vehicle. Some
neighbours also set up small stalls to sell products made of coconut shells and coconut oil to tourists.
"It is a good business and I can earn much more than by selling only coconuts, which I did in the past," said Samart.
Koh Samui, which is also known as the coconut island, does not have only coconut trees. Although half of the land is used for
planting coconuts, there are orchards where locals grow longkong, salak, mangosteen and durian. We found an orchard on the west
side of the island in Ban Taling Ngam. The produce is not for export, but only sold on the island.
Ban Taling Ngam is also a place where buffalo fights are held. A large bamboo ring is set up for a week-long fight and surrounded by
a temporary plastic sheet and high fence to allow only paying viewers to watch the game.
Fights are normally organised in the late afternoon during April and May. People cheer and bet on their favourite water buffalo. One
round may end as quickly as five minutes and normally finish when one buffalo runs away.
Serious injuries are prohibited as locals consider it a game rather than mortal combat.
Although land in Koh Samui is being increasingly developed for luxury hotels and resorts, there are still local communities where
fishermen sail their wooden boats to catch fish, shrimp and crabs.
One of the old communities is located in Ban Hua Thanon. Descendants of Muslims who migrated from Pattani more than a century
ago, they are a strong community centered around Masjid Nuruliahsan. Dried fish is one of the main products of the village.
Getting around by car in Koh Samui is quite convenient because the roads are in good condition. The best recommendation is to
rent a motorbike or a car if you do not take your car from the mainland on the ferry because hiring a taxi is very expensive. The
starting price is 400 baht and even a short one-way trip can cost 700 baht. An alternative is to take the red songtaew that one can
connect from one place to another around the island, but patience is required.
As Samui gradually develops as an alternative to Phuket, the type of accommodation is shifting from backpacker hostels to high-end
resorts. The types of tourists who come here is also shifting to families, sports players and those looking for holistic health courses.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand forecasts that the number of tourists visiting Koh Samui will increase at least 2% each year.
Property development projects are expected to increase on the island.
Next time we revisit Koh Samui, we are certain that many things will have changed. I can only hope that those local communities will
still be the same.
Abhisit enjoying rare Songkran breeze Bangkok Post 13 April 2011
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is 'smelling the breeze' on the resort island of Samui, his first Songkran holiday with his family in
more than two years in office. In a brief interview with reporters before leaving Bangkok for Surat Thani province, the prime minister
appeared optimistic for the 2011 Thai traditional new year after “the bewilderment of the past two years” when the violent rallies of
the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in Bangkok stripped him of any happy time.
His words for the Thai people during the festival season before departing were what people already expect – happiness and safety.
He urged motorists to drive carefully, which has been the state campaign against road accidents, which usually rise during the
festival holiday. He and his family will enjoy their private time on the island until April 16. After Songkran, he said, everyone will head
towards the general election, likely to be held in June. “I will discuss with the Election Commission about setting guidelines for the
elections,” he
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