Phuket province is seeing an increase in foreign visitors, with the Chinese leading the way, followed by Russians and Australians.
Phuket Tourism Association Vice President Thanawat Oncharoen has pointed out that most Chinese tourists prefer to travel independently rather than in tour groups. The number of tour groups from the country remains relatively modest.
While the number of international arrivals is currently at 70% of pre-pandemic levels, this is a significant improvement compared to last year.
Phuket authorities are actively looking to welcome tourists from Kazakhstan and Israel this year to diversify their visitors' source markets. In addition, the Middle East is expected to contribute to inbound tourism at this time of year, as many travelers from the region are eager to enjoy the rainy season in Phuket.
According to experts, the tourism sector in Phuket has shown resilience as visitor numbers from India and Australia have already reached pre-pandemic levels.
According to Sueksit Suwannaditsakul, the president of the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, Phuket's hotel occupancy has maintained a good 70 percent level from January to May. Travelers have many options for accommodation as there are approximately 3,000 hotels and 200,000 rooms on the island.
Lertchai Wangtrakuldee, the director of TAT's Phuket office, emphasized over 6 million tourists (both domestic and international) have visited Phuket in the first five months of this year. For the time, tourism contributed to the local economy by over 196 billion baht (about 5 billion EUR). TAT aims to attract 12 million tourists to Phuket by the end of this year.
