New Look For Brand Phuket's X-Factor

Despite the crises that have beset Thailand over the past five years – Phuket continues to post remarkable growth. It remains entrenched in traveler's minds as not only Asia's most popular tourism island, but one of the most desirable leisure destinations for investors and entrepreneurs worldwide.
Last year when the flooding damaged the industry – and certainly the perception of Thailand worldwide – Phuket continued its astounding resilience story recording a 30% increase in visitor arrivals, with 4.2 million arrivals alone at Phuket International Airport – which has established itself as one of the region's busiest airports.
Bolstering the image of what is being talked of now as "Brand Phuket" is the digital news site thephuketinsider.com which has brought a booming tourism industry within striking distance of a global audience through its commentary, unique research and the "X-Factor" that continues to drive the destination forward.
ThePhuketInsider, which was launched in 2009, is the brainchild of Bill Barnett, Founder and Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks – a leading Phuket-based hospitality consulting firm specializing in the Asian region.
As the world turned upside down after the global financial crisis and Thailand experienced a political crisis, the island's tourism market has continued to surge, registering double digit year-on-year annual visitor arrivals growth.
In our opinion it is the X-Factor that has provided Phuket with an combustion engine of sustained forward momentum. The island has found this a highly successful formula headlined by door-to-door travel via an increasing number of direct flights. Top this off with a large sable of international hotel chains, a mega yachting industry, and a lifestyle which is attracting people from all walks of life and you have very compelling drivers of demand.
The "boots on the ground" research that C9 Hotelworks pioneered in Phuket remains at the core of the ThePhuketInsider which has become a must read for key local, regional and international players in the travel trade, tourism and property industries.
But with the launch of a new look, the news site is breaking fresh ground – offering an improved mobile version, geo tagging of stories on Google Maps, and additions such as plug in's to TripAdvisor and Facebook.
It's an exciting time for ThePhuketInsider. Obviously social media is the fastest way that news spreads today and can have a great impact on hotel and property brands. Unlike print publications the new world media order is always open 24/7, which means continually recreating our own business models.
Brand Phuket remains a highly sought after commodity. Our mission at ThePhuketInsider is presenting tourism updates, statistics and news which brings readers closer the island.