Thai immigration reports over 900,000 tourists in Phuket since May
Phuket’s tourism is continuing to make its post-Covid-19 comeback. Thai immigration reported over 900,000 tourists in Phuket from May 1 to November 27.
The total number of tourists that visited the island province in that time frame is 934,164. Of those tourists, 914,746 are foreigners, and 19,418 are Thai.
Meanwhile the Phuket Walking Street Sunday Market, also well known as ‘Laad Yai’ is still full of tourists every week, The Phuket Express reported. The vice president of the Old Phuket Town Community, Somyos Patan, said…
“The market is one of the most important tourism destinations in Phuket which is a must for visitors to visit the signature market in the Phuket Old Town.”
Russians made up Phuket’s largest tourist demographic if November. This month, 55,097 Russians made their way to the island province.
The second largest tourist group in Phuket this month came from India, with 26,525 travellers, according to Phuket Immigration. The third largest group was Australians, with 13,868 tourists. British visitors made up the fourth largest group with 12,340 tourists. Germans came in fifth place, with 11,097 tourists.
The recent swarm of Russian tourists in Thailand has taken the country’s tourism forces completely by surprise. Despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian tourism market has returned much quicker than expected, according to the president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).
Chartered flights to Phuket and Pattaya are being filled by Russian tourists. Less than two weeks after Russian airlines made their triumphant return to Phuket, Aeroflot announced an increase in direct flights to the island. The flagship airline of Russia announced on November 12 that it would be adding 14 new flights a week from Russia to Phuket.
Last week, TAT’s deputy governor said the number of Russian tourists flying to Thailand is expected to reach 1 million next year.
As of October 26, Thailand witnessed 7,349,843 international tourists arriving, surpassing the seven million mark. It’s put the country within its goal range set by the TAT of seven to 10 million visitors for 2022.
