Samui operators see some signs of revival

Visitor numbers from the Middle East and Russia are also expected to rise because of stepped-up advertising and attractive tourism packages to be offered by operators, said Senee Phuwasetthaworn, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui.

According to Mr Senee, four charter flights with 150 seats each from China Southern Airlines are scheduled to fly to Surat Thani starting from Wednesday.

The airline is using the Surat Thani provincial airport instead of the one on Samui, which is owned by Bangkok Airways and charges high landing fees.

"This reflects a new hope for operators as it will be the first time there is a charter flight from China to Surat Thani," he said.

Mr Senee said operators were seeing increased hotel room reservations from Germany, Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia for January, the busiest month of the high tourism season.