Phuket Airport’s arrival growth soars
Looking at the numbers alone, the new upgrade and expansion of Phuket International Airport has been a roaring success (although the renovations are ongoing and, especially the domestic terminal, are an unfinished mess right now).
January through March, 2018 passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport surged by 19.3% compared to the same period last year, totalling 2,729,185 travelers.
Chinese tourist arrivals led the way with a staggering 50% year-on-year increase, while the Russian market has not only recovered, but moved up by 47% as well.
For the period, total Chinese arrivals were 660,813 followed by Russia with 303,772.
The top five international markets arriving at Phuket Airport for the first three months this year, in order, are China, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Australia (Sweden and Australia punching above their weight with populations of only 10 and 24 million respectively).
It should be noted that the arrival figures at Phuket Airport only note the nationality of passengers arriving on international flights, and that overseas passengers coming to the island on domestic flights are not reflected in the nationality numbers above. Hence the reality is that the Chinese and Russian numbers are in fact a lot higher with many more arrivals coming through Bangkok.
Airlift and direct flights to Phuket continue to define the destination, as the island ranks amongst leading global markets in terms of sustained demonstrated growth.
