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Between
16-21 November 2008, 36 contestants from different cities in France, together with more than 50 members of the Miss France 2009
crew, stayed in Phuket for a special segment of the contest which is a collaboration between
the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Paris office, XL Airways and BEST Tours.
“With the potential growth of the tourism industry in Phuket to help stimulate the overall economy of Thailand, we need to continue our heavy
and extensive promotion of this world-renowned seaside resort city,”
said Mrs. Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications of
TAT, adding that the Miss France 2009 campaign in Phuket is part of a series of TAT promotion
plans.
In September 2008, the management of Miss France and TF1, France’s No.1 TV channel, flew to Phuket to inspect the island and its tourist
attractions, in preparation for the Miss France 2009 campaign in Phuket.
During their stay, the famous Morning Talk (La Matinale) TV programme
filmed a documentary about the beauty pageant with segments in Phuket to be telecast via the Miss France 2009 programme on TF1 on 6 December 2008, the contest finals, at 8.50 – 11.30 p.m., before an
expected audience of 12 million French-speaking people.
Following its cooperation to organize the Miss France 2009 campaign in Phuket, XL Airways France will start its operation of the Paris-Phuket
charter flight service in December 2008. The one-flight weekly service will continue until April 2010 using
364-seat Airbus A330-200, with the inaugural flight to take place on 21 December 2008. TAT will invite 100 travel agents and media for the inaugural flight.
With the wide and varied media channels for the Miss France 2009 campaign in Phuket and the inaugural flight, TAT hopes that French people
will feel encouraged to pack their bags and choose Thailand as their next
holiday destination. For years, France has remained one of the most important
European markets for Thailand’s travel industry, along with the UK, Germany and Sweden.
Thailand
welcomed around 351,651 French visitors in 2007, an increase of 9.92% from 319,910
the previous year. Their average length of stay is 15.15 days while the average spending is Baht 3,820 or
about US$110. For the first seven months of 2008, Thailand welcomed 246,188 visitors from France, a slight 2.69% rise from 216,121
during the same period of 2007.
According to statistics from the Immigration Bureau, tourist arrivals to Thailand at
Phuket International Airport during January and August this year are 829,083, an increase of 5.24% from 787,827 arrivals during the first eight months of 2007.
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