Phuket Bounces makes a come back in 2023 – Rangsiman Kingkaew, deputy president of the PTA, stated that before the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2019, roughly 700,000–800,000 tourists visited Phuket each month. Rangsiman Kingkaew was speaking to the Bangkok Post about Phuket’s tourism plan for 2023–2024.
- Phuket was hit heavily by the Covid-19 pandemic during 2020–2021 but tourists started returning once the Sandbox scheme kicked off in July, 2021.
- Speaking to the Bangkok Post about
- plan for 2023-2024, Rangsiman Kingkaew, deputy president of the PTA, said about 700,000–800,000 tourists came to Phuket monthly before the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2019.
- Received 14 million visitors overall, including 10 million foreign visitors, and generated up to 440 billion baht in tourism revenue, the second-highest amount behind Bangkok, according to him.
- According to him, Phuket’s tourism has improved by roughly 80% [in comparison to visitor arrivals in 2019] and currently sees 500,000–600,000 visitors every month.
- “Phuket could make more than 200-300 billion baht from tourism by the end of 2023 with more than 14 million tourists expected,” Mr. Rangsiman stated.
- More foreign visitors are arriving in Phuket now than there were prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- German visitors have increased by nearly 150% since pre-Covid-19, while Russian visitors have increased by 130%, Australian visitors by 97%, and Kazakh visitors by 3,000%.
- Speaking of regular visitors from India, Mr. Rangsiman claimed that due to the failure of a few Indian airlines, there are now less South Asian tourists visiting.
- During its Sandbox arrangement, which enabled foreign tourists to travel during the pandemic, Kazakhstan was the first country to run direct flights to Phuket. Now, according to Mr. Rangsiman, Kazakhs are among the top 10 nationalities of tourists in Phuket.
Russians made up the top three international tourist groups from November 2015 to June 16, followed by Chinese, Indians, Australians, and Kazakhs. Middle Eastern Muslims who travel are another target. Given that it has services suited for halal practice, might be able to present itself as a destination hospitable to Muslims in the future.
Roadshow
According to Mr. Rangsiman, Chinese visitors to Phuket are anticipated to continue during the present shoulder season. The majority of foreign visitors, according to reports, take connecting flights at airports in Dubai and Singapore before boarding flights that go directly to Phuket. The resort island would see an increase in visitors, Mr. Rangsiman continued, if Thailand’s national airline offered more direct flights from foreign cities to Phuket. Next year, the association will promote tactics to draw both local and foreign tourists to the resort island through a roadshow throughout Thailand, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.
First and foremost, the PTA wants to keep returning visitors from China, Russia, Australia, the UK, Germany, and other European nations. In order to connect its network with European suppliers, it will go to ITB Berlin, the largest tourism trade show in the world, in March. In addition to the ITB Berlin, the PTA will host a roadshow in China in April. According to data, China’s economy has not recovered from the pandemic, which has led to a decline in domestic travel.
Australia is another target country for the PTA’s tourist roadshow, which will visit there in May. The PTA’s roadshow to promote travel to Russia will take place the following month. Russian visitors, according to Mr. Rangsiman, typically stay for weeks. Some people take a 30- to 90-day vacation in Phuket.” Russian nationals can visit Thailand on a 90-day tourist visa. Many people have looked for villas in Phuket because of the political upheaval in their nation, he continued.
New Targets
- The PTA also wants to draw in new demographics. Since the pandemic ended, more visitors have come from India, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.
- Direct flights from these nations are a major factor in the influx of Muslim visitors to Phuket.
- Before the Covid-19 outbreak struck, Mr. Rangsiman claimed that India’s GoAir and IndiGo established direct flights to Phuket, and that as a result, Indians now make up one of the biggest visitor demographics.
- This year, a brand-new direct flight from Saudi Arabia to Phuket might be introduced. In May, the island was also visited by more planes from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.
- South African travelers to Phuket who typically go there in the off-season represent another potential market for the PTA. Many South African tourists travel to Phuket via long-haul flights from Africa, where they can frequently remain for weeks.
- The PTA will also try to promote as a travel destination to Thai nationals.
- Thai visitors still account for more than 30% of all visitors by nationality, despite the resort island being recognized for its foreign visitors, he said.
- According to Mr. Rangsiman, Phuket has always welcomed Thai visitors, and the island overcame the pandemic issue by attracting more domestic visitors than foreign ones.
- In order to entice more Thai tourists to visit Phuket during the shoulder season, he noted that the PTA would also organize its tourism roadshows in important regional provinces like Bangkok, Udon Thani,Khon Kaen, and Songkhla